Cheaters, Beaters, and Love
by LeagueofLegs
Summary: Kirito has everything he could want. A group of wonderful friends, a loving girlfriend, but when Kirito finds himself in another death game without Asuna, he finds himself clinging to the one girl he thought he'd never be with. (Kirito x Sinon) Still deciding on M or T. Cover image by Liany33 on Deviant Art.
1. Prologue

**ATM I've been getting back into sao, because of the new extras that came out a few days ago. I started rewatching episodes and shit, and I thought I might write a fanfic about my undying love for Sinon x Kirito. I know I'm not the only one, but I've never liked Asuna x Kirito, and before season two I was all for Lizbeth. If you didn't agree with me, why would you be reading this fanfic? That's what I thought. Well anyway, enjoy! (Btw, this starts after the events of episode 17)**

Kirito stood in front of Sinon, staring in awe at what she had just done. Of course, he wasn't the only one. Kirito had to jump from the falling platform onto the Squidiphant, but the weight of the legendary Excalibur was too much, and he wouldn't have made it. Kirito thought about throwing it down to his friends, but he was afraid it might land the wrong way, and kill his only way out alive. Kirito thought hard, and threw the sword into the abyss before jumping down. After Sinon retrieved it by shooting a single grapple arrow at it, everybody was amazed. She kindly offered it to him, but as he reached his hands out, she pulled back.

"I'll give this to you if..." She said gladly

Kirito's face went limp, knowing the if was going to be bad.

"...if you promise that each time you draw this sword, you'll remember me in your heart."

Kirito's eyes widened for a split second, not sure what she meant. He looked over to the group of friends watching them both, all disappointed looks on their faces. One look stood out to him out of all the others; Asuna's. He loved her, and she knew that, but she was the jealous type. Asuna hated it when girls flirted with Kirito, and hated it even more when it was one of his close friends. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him, and promised do everything in her power to keep Kirito within her grasp. Kirito found this a bit annoying, because Asuna would go to questionable lengths to find out if he was cheating on her... which never occurred.

Asuna was ready to rip out Sinon's throat at that moment, but she didn't, because it wasn't necessary. She just had to keep Kirito from saying anything that gave her hope. Asuna gave Kirito her death glare, which he understood quite well. Kirito looked at the crowd of friends before him, knowing they'd all go ape-shit on him if he said the wrong word. He thanked Sinon lightly, and accepted her promise, sounding as friendly as he could without a single hint of flirting.

Sinon thought about what she said, and instantly realized that crowd watching her, as if she was trying to flirt with Kirito. She wanted to cover her face and run, but she put on a smile as if it was nothing but a friendly gesture. She knew it wasn't though. Sinon wanted nothing more in that moment to kiss Kirito, to feel his soft tongue intertwining with hers. She knew it wasn't reality though, and it never would be. Kirito had Asuna, and that was that. After Kirito accepted the promise, things got a bit awkward between them for the next few minutes. She didn't know if she was too obvious around him, but she had a strong feeling she was.

**And that's chapter 1! I know, I know, it's REALLY short. This is more of a prologue than a chapter, but you're just gonna have to deal with it for now. I hoped you like it, and don't forget to leave feedback in the reviews. It always helps!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Some might consider this chapter 2, while others consider it chapter 1. I don't really care, as long as you enjoy the story. So... yeah. Enjoy!**

[Takes place around episode 23]

Kirito was expecting Asuna to be here, but she was late. Again. This had been happening all too often since she joined the Sleeping Knights. He didn't have anything against the group, but Kirito just wished he could spend more time with his girlfriend. He started noticing that Asuna was growing apart from him. She was becoming more independent. Once again, there was nothing wrong with that, but she started showing him up a lot. Kirito was okay with it in a way, because he at least had more time to hang out with Sinon, Lizbeth, and the rest of the crew. They went on ALO a lot, and Kirito would play GGO with Sinon every once and a while, so not to go dull.

Along with virtual reality, Kirito also hung out with friends in real life, mostly with Sinon. Agil was usually busy with his bartending, Lizbeth was always making up late assignments for school, Klein was always working, and Silica was... actually, Kirito didn't know what Silica did. Sinon was always avalible, other than school hours. They usually went on walks, and talked about their personal lives, and what they were going to do in ALO. Kirito had gotten used to the weight of the Excalibur, and started using it more often. He kept his promise to Sinon, always thinking of her when he used it... not to mention she reminded him every time they went on a mission together.

Kirito thought blanked out for a near hour, before snapping back into reality and looking at his watch. He was shocked at how much time he wasted sitting down, and was just about to get up and leave before he noticed somebody sitting on the other side of the table. It was Sinon.

"Oh, hey Shino." Kirito waved lazily, with a droopy tone in his voice.

"Kazuto, you seem really bothered about Asuna." This wasn't nearly the first time Kirito was left alone, and Sinon always came to check on him if he didn't answer her calls. He was always at the same restaurant. It was Asuna's favorite. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You can be my date, if that doesn't sound to awkward." They both laughed, Kirito clueless of the deep wound he had just reopened in Sinon's heart. It wasn't a hurtful wound, but more a dream that she had left behind.

Sinon shrugged. "Okay, but don't expect me to cover the bill." Kirito smiled, with Sinon happy knowing she cheered him up.

They both ordered something casual, and they had small conversations, and talked about their group. It was fun, but soon the date was soon over, and Kirito drove Sinon home on his motercycle, then headed home himself. Just as they left, Asuna walked down to the restaurant, and looked around. Not seeing Kirito anywhere, she called him.

"Hey, are you coming soon? You're already late." Asuna was frustrated with Kirito.

"Asuna, our date was three hours ago. It's 8:30 pm. I'm gonna get some sleep. You should too." Kirito ended the call before she could reply.

He was mad with her. Not showing up to their date for the 4th time in a row was one thing, but the fact that she was clueless she was even late pissed him off. Kirito went to bed without saying hi to Sugu on his way upstairs. Though he usually did, she didn't question it. Kirito couldn't sleep that night. He had too much to think about. Most of it was about Asuna, and how they were growing apart. She left him alone on dates, didn't answer her phone, never called him, and a few other things popped into his head that had been small problems he had, but became bigger as he thought more about them. For example, Asuna wanted to wait until marrage to have sex, and he was completely against it. She also made him pay for dinner every time they went out. He had never even met her parents, though he knew her mother hated him.

It seemed like it was true love in SAO, but maybe it only was in SAO. Kirito started to really think about her, and how she always called him "Kirito", and not Kazuto. She preferred to be called outside MMORPG's, but only by him. Kirito thought about how she was increasingly never there for him, when he always helped her out. Suddenly, something in Kirito's mind snapped. His love for Asuna just... disappeared. Then he started to feel guilty. Kirito just stopped loving her. He started hating himself for it, but he couldn't stop. Kirito went to sleep, hoping he'd feel better tomorrow. He started to dose off, when- "RING! RING RING! RING!" Note to self. Change ring tone. It was Sinon calling.

"Kirito, I.. can you come over?" Sinon sounded worried. "I just.. I thought I got over it, but I had another nightmare."

Kirito was tired, but he knew Sinon would be up all night crying if somebody didn't comfort her. It was a problem she had. Everybody had thought she got over it, but apparently not.

"I'll be right there." Kirito spoke with a calm voice, so not to alarm her. Sinon's nightmares brought out deep, dark memories. She had mental breakdowns.

"Thanks. I'm sorry to bother you so late, but I'm just-"

"It's okay, I understand." Kirito stopped her, knowing she felt guilty for waking him. Kirito thought he might tell her about his recent mindset. He made a quick breakfast for Sugu, wrapped it in plastic, then left a note and headed out the door. He was always happy to help Sinon, as she was always there for him. After that experience in GGO during the BOB tournament, they were always open to each other... about most things.


	3. Chapter 2

**I have a three day weekend, so I'm gonna get out as many chapters as I can before it ends. In case you were wondering, I'm well aware that the story picked up fairly quickly, and I did that for a reason. Well, here's chapter 3. Enjoy!**

Kirito cranked up the power on my motercycle, and quickly headed down to Sinon's apartment. It was snowing out, so he brought chains with him just in case. As Kirito took off, he thought he heard somebody calling his name far behind. Kirito looked back, expecting to see somebody, but nobody could see anything in this thick snowstorm. He went a few 10's of miles pass the speed limit, but nobody was around, and he didn't want to keep Sinon waiting. She had a rough past, and Kirito felt bad for her. Kirito was lost in thought, until he looked up in front of him, and saw barely anything. He couldn't see through the storm, even with his headlights on. He stopped to put on chains, then continued, worried about getting lost.

After a long drive and about 5 U-turns, Kirito made it to Sinon's apartment, and knocked on the door.

"One minute!" Kirito heard from the other side, presumably from Sinon.

He waited a while, and let his mind wander off to pass the time. He started to think about what she was doing inside. Kirito started to let his pubescent thoughts take over without realizing it. He blankly stared into the door, while imagining Sinon, taking a shower. He thought of her smooth skin, with thin drops of water splashing over it. She put her hands through her soapy jet black hair, slowly stroking it. Kirito gained a warm smile on his face, when the door opened.

"Hey Kazuto. Thanks for coming, I um... I got really scared." Sinon expected a reply, but didn't get one. "Kazuto?"

Kirito quickly snapped back into reality, realizing he had a slight erection. He prayed to god she didn't see it.

"Oh, hey. Sorry, I kinda blanked out." Kirito's face turned a bright red, and stayed that way until his erection went down.

Sinon gestured for him to come in, and he entered with a smile. Kirito expected the place to be somewhat clean as it usually was, but Sinon's home was surprisingly messy tonight. He sat down on the side of her bed, and took his coat off.

"So, what do you feel like doing?" Kirito wasn't really tired anymore, and as far as he knew, Sinon didn't look tired either.

"Usually when I have a nightmare, I go on GGO to calm down, but there's no point in that right now, since you're here." Sinon seemed pretty calm already. Kirito was questioning why she still needed him. "Oh! Um, are you hungry? I have left over chicken if that's okay."

"I'm fine. Thanks for the offer though." They both realized how awkward it was getting, so Kirito decided he would go. She seemed fine without him. "If you're feeling fine, I should probably get back home. Sugu's going to kill me if I'm not home when she wakes up."

Kirito started walking to the door, when Sinon put her hand on his shoulder.

"Wait! Uhh, could you sleep here?.. In case I have a nightmare again.. I meant." Sinon got nervous, feeling way too obvious, though Kirito was completely clueless.

He nodded, and Sinon smiled, hoping she wasn't causing him too much trouble. Sinon ran into the back room, and changed into her pajamas. They were far too big for her, though she looked really cute in them, so Kirito didn't argue. They both got into the same bed with a little bit of hesitation beforehand.

"So, goodnight." Kirito said, his face close to Sinons. Their bodies were facing each other, and Kirito felt her soft breathing on his face. It was nice, and her breath smelled like strawberries. Sinon quickly turned away, trying not to make the situation more awkward. She thought for a moment, then turned back around to face Kirito.

"Kazuto, would it be okay if I held you in my arms? I-" Sinon was about to make up some lame excuse, but Kirito said okay without hesitation.

She wrapped her arms around him, and they barely cuddled. Sinon fell asleep with Kirito in her arms, and she had a nice dream this time. Kirito couldn't sleep still, because he started thinking about Sinon in the shower again. This time, he stopped himself. _No Kazuto! You have a girlfriend that's been with you for almost three years now. Don't let her go. _Kirito slowly but steadily dozed off into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, Asuna was in her own bed, feeling really suspicious. She was walking over to Kirito's home to go and apologize, when she saw him leave on his motorcycle. Where would Kirito be going this late at night? Asuna tried assuming he went to pick up some groceries or something, but couldn't help think of the worst. For all she knew, he could be having sex with some slut right now. Asuna started to worry. Why would Kirito do that? She was a great girlfriend, and they only had a few small disagreements. Despite that, they were a perfect couple. Asuna was starting to regret not installing the tracking device on Kirito's phone.

The next morning, Sinon woke up next to Kirito, who was still asleep. She noticed that her body was almost like a sleeping bag over his, wrapped around him like a rope. Sinon detached herself from Kirito once she realized she was in the position, but not without a few more seconds of hugging his warm, tender body. She unwrapped herself from him slowly, trying not to wake him up. Sinon had a smile on her face that she just couldn't seem to wipe off, because of the most wonderful dream. She was in GGO, back in the last BOB tournament. Kirito was with her in the large cave that was their hiding place for a long while, and the scenario played in her head over and over, but this time, they kissed... More than that. She remembered Kirito's soft lips on hers, his bare chest rubbing against her bra, but the dream ended before they went any further than him, shirtless, and me, topless. Sinon checked her pants and the bed for any wet spots, indicating she leaked her juices during the dream. To her luck, there were none.

She giggled at the sight of Kirito curled up in her bed, while fantasizing that they had sex the night before. Sinon's expression lit up even more as he started to open his eyes. Sinon didn't know why, but she felt the need to jump on him, so she did. He screamed like a girl, and they both broke out laughing.

"Hey, it's 5:30. Doesn't your sister wake up soon?" Kirito looked at his silver watch, widening his eyes, as she woke up at 5:45 for early Kendo practicing. Kirito yells a thanks and goodbye in a mess of slurs, then charges out the door to his bike. He throws his helmet on, and heads home. Kirito remembered the last time he wasn't home when she woke up. Sugu was really strict about Kirito's outing times. Though she was his cousin/sister, she was also like a mother in some ways. It was nice. Kirito unlocked the door with his house key, then charged in to find Sugu standing in the living room tapping her foot on the ground.

"Where were you!?" She was partially joking. "I was worried sick! You're grounded!"

They both laughed, and started the day, Kirito with TV, and Sugu with Kendo.

**Chapter 3 is finished! How'd you like it? I was careful not to ship the package just yet, but I'll surely do it soon. Leave your feedback in the reviews section. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Alright, I'm just going to point this out (and I know I'm not the only one thinking it). Sinon's ALO avatar is literally the sexiest thing that's ever existed and ever will exist. You know it's true. So, I had a string a problems arise this weekend. First, Windows 7 broke, so I started to write chapter 4 on google drive. I usually wrote at about 12 or so, and could only go on for so long before I fell asleep. On sunday, there was a power outage that lasted a while, so yeah. Well, here's chapter 4. Enjoy!**

Sinon walked over to her dresser, and picked up her amusphere. It was Shiny, and surprisingly lightweight. She had thought back to when she played GGO with Kirito. She wasn't really sure about gaming back then. Sinon had since been a lot happier. There was no way she would stop VR gaming now. Her Amusphere was white, just like the most others, with a big glass plate on the front. It was for augmented reality, which wasn't popular, but had potential. There were a few things out there for it, but she always thought it would be weird to just wear them in public. She saw her reflection in the glass, and she looked quite messy. Sinon had just recently woken up, so she hadn't taken a shower yet, or put her hair ties in. She assumed she smelled too. There was a small orangish black stain on her shirt, but she just shrugged at it. Sinon took all her clothes off except for her panties, then put on a loose comfy shirt. She lied down on her bed, and put the Amusphere over her head.

"Link start" she said, turning on the device.

Sinon saw a flash of colors, then a small scene appeared around her. There was a wall of trees, concealing her, with "AlfHeim Online" displaying in big letters. Three buttons appeared, with one saying "Select Character", another saying "Options", and the third reading "Quit". Sinon pressed "Select Character", and then was taken to an empty white space. Three figures appeared before her. The first was a Cait Syth character, the second was a Human character, and the third was a big plus, indicating to create a new character. She jumped into the first character, logging her onto the Japan server. She spawned in Kirito's home, as that was where she had been last. She hadn't recalled what She was doing there, but it probably had something to do with wanting to be with him. She sat on the couch, waiting for Kirito to arrive. They were going to walk to Agil's shop together, because Kirito said he had something he wanted to talk about. She rested on the couch imagining the best possible conversation they could have.

"Hey Sinon.. So, I've had a deep love for you ever since I saw you in GGO. I know you probably don't feel the same way, but Asuna said if you ever wanted to have a three-way, it would be alright."

Sinon suddenly burst out in laughter at how funny that seemed, though she had honestly always wanted to try a three way, let alone sex in general. She never told anybody, but she never had a first kiss. Everybody had made fun of Sinon her whole life, and she never had any friends. She had a boyfriend before word spread of her "incident", but they never did anything. She loved Kirito though, and at the same time, disliked him. He was always so ignorant about the way girls felt around him, even when they were obvious. Like when she told him to always remember her in his heart, and he took it as a friendly gesture. I almost leaned in to kiss the guy, and he- she stopped being frustrated as Kirito walked through the doorway, and greeted her. She greeted him back, and they started walking in the snow. Sinon was the first to speak up.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Sinon was eager to hear what Kirito had to say, but her curiosity turned to worry as Kirito had a frown on his face.

"I... I think I don't..." Kirito was struggling to get the words out, realizing what they truly meant.

"I think I've lost interest in Asuna!" Kirito blurt the words out in a whiz, then instantly regret what he said. He didn't change his mind about it, but his heart was full of guilt. "After all we've been through, I've stopped loving her. I'm a horrible person." He started to break down and cry, but nobody saw or heard because they were deep within the forest.

Sinon always thought of Kirito as somebody she could always look up to, somebody who was strong. It was times like these that reminded her that he was just a normal teen. She soaked in the words, and thought about what they meant. Kirito may very well be single soon. Though she was full of exitement, Sinon kept to herself, and put a frown on her face. It's not that she didn't feel sorry for him, but this was a once and a lifetime opportunity.

"I'm thinking about telling the others. They'd help, right?" Kirot had no idea about anybody's feelings, did he.

"Uhh, no! Don't.. don't tell them. You can't." Sinon thought about how if he told them, there would be competition. I... I don't think they wouldn't understand."

Kirito nodded in agreement. They started walking again, Kirito wiping away his tears. He thought about how he could possibly tell her; if he was going to tell her. Kirito was looking at Sinon, who looked to be bearing the pain with him. He didn't want her to share his pain, so he tried to be happy.

"Ya know, we could totally ditch this quest and go to Aincrad. There's a boss I've been wanting to fight." Kirito pulled up his menu to send Asuna a PM, but then hesitated.

"Hey, we should go.." Sinon was on the verge of asking Kirito on a date, but suddenly felt strongly against it. He was still with Asuna at the moment, and is still broken over her. "...to uh, Aincrad. Yeah."

"Are you alright? Your face just went pink." Kirito was ignorant as ever. He thought too low of himself to believe that every girl liked him, but deep down, he probably know it was true.

Sinon nodded, holding her breath. She was so obvious, yet so unnoticed. Sinon felt butterflies in her stomach. She was nervous, and wanted to calm down. "I, have to go Kirito. Sorry, but I have one awkwardish question." Kirito looked over to her, wondering what she had to say. "What am I to you?"

"Umm, I guess you're like an unknown variable in my life... If that means anything."

**Eyyy, how was that? Did you like it? I've been trying to be more descriptive in my writing lately, and add more character into it. Tell me what you think in the reviews section.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Myeh, there's that. This one's a biggie, so prepare your anus. Also, if you don't like my story for some reason, and you want to complain about it, don't just say "o its bad and ur bad lol m8 such a bad story" or something like that. Give a legit reason why you didn't like it, and who knows? Maybe I'll get around to changing it. Well anyhow, enjoy!**

Kirito was sitting in Agil's shop when he opened up his menu to find two unread messages to him. One was a typical system message.

"ALO is having its biggest update yet! Come on at 12:00 to receive a special item that isn't obtainable anywhere else!"

Kirito checked the time. It was 11:58. The whole crew came online including Agil and Klein. Nobody could miss an event like this... Except Asuna, who wasn't answering his calls. Kirito was worried. Had she overheard the conversation between him and Sinon? No matter. She would probably be on soon. Kirito decided to read the second message, which was irregular. It wasn't automated, but it wasn't from a GM either. It was an important message, which meant it had to be from an admin. Kirito quickly read the name and understood fully. It read "Kayaba". Kirito's eyes widened, as he was struck with sudden panic. Everybody looked his way, but Kirito calmed down and told them it was nothing. He read the letter carefully.

"Kirito. By the time you read this, it will be 12:00, and the new update will be out. I wanted to mention that I remembered why I created Sword Art Online. I wanted to be in a world where the Floating Steel Castle, the one I dreamed about, could tell billions of stories of loss, love, and sacrifice. I wanted the game to mean something. I have watched you grow close to Asuna, and apart from her too. I'd also like to thank you though. You've made me realize that my work isn't finished. As the lone victor of SAO, I want to give you the choice to leave. You know what's going to happen, and you know what to do. Log out, or be cast into a forgotten world. Oh, and one last thing. Asuna has been cheating on you."

Kirito took in the message, word for word.

"Everybody log out now! No questions!" Kirito's voice was fierce, and dead serious. He looked over to Klein's screen with panic in his eyes, and a single tear dropped when he saw the menu. No log out button. Only on his. Only Kirito could leave. He didn't regard the last part of the message, as he only could focus on the main point of it. He watched as everybody, including himself, was teleported to the main town of the world tree. It was much larger and taller than usual. It must be the new Aincrad. Sinon ran up to Kirito, hugging him. She saw him in distress, but didn't know why.

"Kirito, what's happening?" She asked, but no reply. The sudden trembling if Kirito's body and his true fear showing answered the question for her. Sinon remembered the lack of a log off button, and her eyes widened as she realized the situation.

Klein looked around, yelling Kirito's name. He knew that Kirito was well aware of what was going on, and he also knew that he was breaking down right now. Klein spotted him in the distance, and pushed through crowds of people to get to him. He roughly grabbed Kirito by the shoulders, then put his arms around the limp boy. Kirito felt Kleins arms around him, and slowly calmed down. He remembered that he wasn't alone this time. He had Sinon, and Klein, and Liz, and Sinon, and... Wait. Didn't he already say Sinon? No matter. Kirito was going to fight until the end. A large, black figure appeared in front of the now endless world tree, and its eyes pierced straight through his soul. It spoke in a baritone voice, echoing around the whole world.

"Greetings, ALO players. My name, is Kayaba. 3 years ago, there was an incident many the "SAO death game". I'm sure you've all heard of it. My world was defeated by a boy named "the black swordsman", and he's here today, among you. You lucky players are now part of a new 'incident'. The ALO Death game. You are all to keep your equipment but all enchantments and levels on your armor, weapons, and spells are gone. All levels have been set to 0. Other than that, you're playing the same game, but one rule is added. When you die in game, you die in real life. If anybody were to take the headgear off, it would result in death. The world tree you see before me now holds 100 dungeons. Clear them all, and you are granted freedom. That is all, thank you for your time."

By this time, the whole group was together, already dashing to the forest. They started farming level 2 monsters, gaining levels by the minute... But not Kirito. He was level 6 in the first few minutes, cutting through enemies with his excalibur like butter. In an hour, he was farming level 15 monsters while everybody was still at level 4. Kirito wouldn't let himself be beat by anybody, and he wouldn't let himself by outleveled. This time, there were people he had to protect. Kirito had been focusing too hard on the current situation, that he totally forgot what the last like of Kayaba's message was. "Oh, and one last thing. Asuna has been cheating on you." Kirito let this sentence soak into the deep depths of his mind until he finally realized what it meant.

"Asuna ch.. she.. I…" Kirito stopped grinding XP, and quickly fell on his knees.

He thought about Kayaba, and how he would know. He surely was lying, right? There was no way Kayaba would know if she cheated on him… unless, she did it in game. Was there sex involved? There couldn't have been… Asuna wanted to wait until marriage to have sex of any kind. It wouldn't be hard to believe, as Asuna has been growing away from Kirito for months now. Kirito has been two, plus he admit to himself that he no longer loved her. She may have felt the same way, but took action. He was too cowardly to take any sort of precautions or actions. Kirito was really mad at this point, and he intended to take every bit of anger out on this dumb death game.

**I told you it was a biggie. I usually like my stories to actually have a plot, so I threw one in there. The description will be updated soon. Thanks, and don't forget to leave "helpful" comments in the reviews section. KTHXBAI**


	6. Chapter 5

**I have a mini story for any League of Legends players, so if you play lol, keep reading. If you don't play lol, just skip this part and get straight to the actual story. Idk why, but I just feel like I need to tell somebody. I'll make this quick. I was playing a game as Azir, and doing really well. Our Lee Sin starts cussing and calling me a smurf, so he starts feeding. (If you haven't guessed, I'm in bronze.) I had their inhib at 15:00, but we still lost because lee fed so much. After the game, one of my teammates adds me. I thought it would be fine to add them because they did good, but I was dead wrong. They started sucking up to me, and saying stuff like "We should play a game." "I just quit my game for you, and you won't play?" "Hey, do you want a mystery skin? I can send you one and you can send me one back." "Why won't you let me give you a mystery skin?" "Pleeaaassee play a game with me." "I need somebody to carry me please!" I felt really bad, but I had to finish another chapter for you guys, so I had to stop playing league for now. It was horrible, because I felt insanely guilty about it. She seemed like she was crying or something, plus she had really bad english. I just said I had to go and left. Cuz I kinda did have to go.. But yeah, that's my lol story. Now onto the main attraction!:**

It had been a few weeks since ALO had become a death game. There had already been about 20,000 deaths, out of a few million players. Kirito shuddered to think about it. He had constructed a schedule, to keep himself in order. For the whole first week, Kirito had done nothing but try to reply to Kayaba, and cry. He also grinded at a restless rate, bringing him to a very high level. He had already cleared a boss himself, though it was a low level one. The bosses were exceedingly harder than in SAO, to compensate for the larger number of players. You could still travel around the world map, though many thought it was a waste of time.

Kirito had grown away from his friends; all but Sinon. She was the light of his life right now. Kirito was having a hard time coping with the situation, but she was helping him through it. They had been spending more time together than with others, mostly talking about personal stuff.

"Hey, What's up with Kirito? It's like he refuses to talk with anybody except you." Liz was curious, thinking about her possible chance with Kirito since Asuna wasn't in the game. She would feel bad for him if he was struggling, even though she secretly wanted it to happen. She wanted to be the one to help him through his struggles.

Sinon wanted to help Kirito more than she wanted to be with him. She decided to tell Liz, and probably the others, so that everybody could help him out. There wasn't much she was doing except listening. Maybe that's all he needed, but she didn't feel like that was the case.

"Kirito… he doesn't love Asuna anymore. He told me about it shortly before this game began." Sinon stopped, and let the info soak in before going on. "Kayaba sent him a message shortly before the game started. He talked about how there was going to be another death game." Sinon stopped again for another few seconds. "He gave Kirito the offer to leave by himself, but he turned it down. He thinks it's his fault you, me, and everybody else are stuck in this world. He does nothing but blame himself." As Sinon paused for the third time, Liz realized that she no longer wanted to be with him, but she just wanted to comfort him and hug him. "Kayaba ended the image saying that he caught Asuna cheating on him." Liz's eyes suddenly widened, soaking in all of the information with a big, ripe, cherry of despair on top.

Liz held back tears as she muttered "I have to go." under her breath. She ran past Sinon, and flew straight to Kirito's home. She had thought of the sacrifice he made to stay with his friends rather than living a free life. She wanted to hug him, and cry on his shoulder, not caring what he'd do. Liz stopped at the doorstep of his small apartment, and knocked on the door. When nobody answered, she stepped inside. She twice about going into Kirito's home without notice, but he usually didn't mind. She saw him sitting on his bed, his hair covering his eyes, with a black t-shirt and jeans on. When Liz saw a single tear fall from his face, she ran up to him and hugged him.

"I saw another one." Kirito didn't move, just barely mumbling his words. "A group.. they wanted me to help them level up. I was trying to help.. I was just trying.. to.." Kirito sat in place, now covering his face in his hands. Liz felt really bad for him, and would do anything to cheer him up. She decided to do something she never thought she'd do. Liz started tearing up, and then quickly moved Kirito's hands from his face. She met her lips with his, and knew to keep going when Kirito didn't interfere. He didn't seem passionate about it, but she kissed him, and he returned it. Their tongues interlocked for about 8 seconds, then slowly pulled apart from each other as Liz nervously awaited Kirito to make a face of satisfaction, or disappointment. To her surprise, he showed neither. It was sort of in the middle, but with a little bit of sorrow. She just hugged him again, and stayed like that until they both fell asleep on the bed.

The next morning, Liz woke up, with Sinon sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. Sinon was a bit worried something happened between them, but was more worried about the note Kirito left. She knew Liz was heading to Kirito's house, and didn't want to interfere. She came to see if he was feeling better in the morning, but found Liz instead, with a note beside her.

"Dear Liz,

I'm sorry about last night, I should have said something. I should thank you for cheering me up, because it really helped me knew that I was't alone. I had the choice to leave ALO before the game began, but I stayed because I wanted to protect you and everybody else. As it turns out, I'm weak. I don't want any of my friends to die, and wouldn't be able to watch it happen. You and everybody else have become way stronger than me, so I've decided to become a solo player. I'll be better off knowing you're safe. This was my own decision, and I've thought about it for a while now. I hope you understand.

-Kirito"

Sinon presented the document to Liz, holding back tears. She hated how he only cared for others and never himself, but that's also why she loved him so much. No matter what Kirito said, he was a hero. He didn't have to have special powers, or even be strong. He had sacrificed more than anybody else in this stupid game. Kirito had saved thousands of people, but never himself. He always blamed himself, carrying a false burden. She remembered when she met the woman that she had saved from the robbery, and let go of the burden she carried around her whole life. She no longer thought of herself a murderer, but a girl who saved a pregnant woman, and her mother. She didn't get cocky about it, but she had the right to, and so did Kirito! Sinon had to find him. She knew she did.

**I know this is a Sinon x Kirito fanfic, but I might as well throw some competition in there, right? He's just so dreamy. How could I not? Oh, and on the issue of short chapters, I don't have a proofreader or an editor or anything, so I have to do all that myself. If these chapters were anything longer than 1000 words (give or take a few), than it would take forever to get them out because I have a lot of other stuff I do. (Like League of Legends for example :P) Well anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Leave your feedback in the reviews section and don't hate on me TOO much.**


	7. Chapter 6

**I thought I might try out a Q and A, so here's a Q and A:**

**Q**: _Also Kirito did meat Asuna's parents.  
_**A**: I was unaware of that at the time.

**Q**: _Aghhskdndhsksksuxu  
_**A**: ...The letter 3

**Q**: _i can tell that you dont really like kirisuna xD  
_**A**: I may have come off a bit strong when talking about that... I don't have anything against the pairing, but it just seems a bit... bland and set up. Also, I've started to like Asuna less since the second half of season two.

**Q**: _I had high hopes for this but it is a great disappointment with to many flaws  
_**A**: You can't just say you hate it and walk away. That's not how reviews work... I think..

**Q**: _"__a kirisuna lover here, just passing by for butthurts" "__ill still read this for kirisuna butthurts" "__i just went here for butthurts"  
_**A**: You guys really love butthurts, don't you...

**Q**: _IMO I would rather wait longer for a longer chapter than quicker for a short one  
_**A**: I do everything from ideas, to writing, to editing myself, so these chapters would take decades to get out if I made them longer. I don't spend too much time on them day to day, and think of the storyline as I go along.

**Q**: _After the SAO incident they made regulations that prevented people from getting killed while in game. Thus the reason the amusphere been invented.  
_**A**: How do you know that one of the people working on the Amusphere wasn't good friends with Kayaba? Maybe they still talked to him after SAO. Maybe, Maybe. It's all speculation.

**Q**: _I'd like for you to add a little more intensity in how the characters react to any and all situations.  
_**A**: I've been trying to do that more lately, but on the specific part about them starting the death game all over again, I tried to focus more about Kirito around that specific time, since he's the main character.

**Q**: _I hate Kirito x Lizbeth but love Kirito x 9oooooooooooooooooooooooooo WHY MAN WHY?  
_**A**: I'm not trying to ship them, don't worry. I'm just adding some competition since pretty much every girl ever wants to be with Kirito.

**Q**: _ok, i know you hate kirisuna, but thst doesnt mean u can go overboard, asuna wont cheat on kirito, theyre frigik OOC ya know. im not hating on your story, your love for kirinon is bringing kirito nd asuna OOC_  
**A**: Kirisuna lovers may feel this way, but you gotta remember that this is a FANFIC. Not everything that happens is 100% accurate. Also, some might think otherwise, because Asuna and Kirito got a bit more distant in season 2, and on episode 13 at the end of GGO, Kirito at least shows some level of affection towards her, even if it is little. I see where you're coming from after rewatching season 1, but you gotta be more open. :T

**Q**: _Omg your fanfic is grate please don't stop_  
**A**: It is quite grate.

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**That's about all for now, thanks for all of your feedback. I'd like to make sure you know that I read it all, and it does help me make a better story. Here's the story. Enjoy!**

"No no no!" Liz was tearing up, trying to stay strong. "He can't just leave like this! We need you Kirito. I need you... Oh, it's all my fault. I can't believe I did this." Sinon wasn't listening to Liz, as she was too busy thinking about where Kirito would be. He would probably be grinding at a higher level, but then again, he might not be fighting at all. Why did he have to be so predictable! Kirito was strong for Sinon, so she had to be strong for him. She would look for him later, but for now Liz needed comforting. She might do something stupid if she were to be too depressed. "Liz? I know this is hard, but this isn't something we had control over. Kirito would've left us either way." Liz started crying even more. "Uhm... Kirito wouldn't have wanted you to be this way. He knows you're strong, and I do too! I'm going to look for him, but you need to tell the others. Stay with them, okay?" Sinon put on a serious face, as Liz gave a heavy nod. There was no telling where Kirito could be, but Sinon had to try. She headed off to the nearest town to ask if anybody had seen where he had gone.

"I think i'm done for the day." Leafa puffed out with a sigh.

She was really tired from killing monsters with the crew. It was late, so she and Silica were the only ones still in forest. They were far from the world tree, grinding some mid-level monsters where nobody else thought to go. Everybody had gotten tired and left. Silica was usually the most devoted to farming, because she thought she would be respected as a fighter if she was stronger, and not just a crummy mascot.

"Okay. I think I'll stay a little bit longer."

Silica was usually scared in the dark, but she had started to like it at night when she began farming at later hours.

"Don't stay up too late." Leafa took flight into the darkness, leaving Silica alone.

Silica continued farming for about an hour, then headed to a nearby town called Bōken. She headed to a small inn/restaurant. Silica sat down at a table, resting her head in her hands. She zoned out and watched a black haired boy talking with two girls. It seemed like he was flirting. The girls were unfamiliar, but as she snapped back into reality, she realized that the boy was Kirito.

"Kirito!" Silica yelled his name halfway across the room, trying to get his attention as she stumbled out of her chair. He looked over to her, watching the clumsy girl almost fall out of her chair and run across the restaurant with everyone staring at her. She plopped down next to him. The two girls were started and a bit weirded out, while Kirito was just casually looking at her, taking a bite out of buttered toast.

"Kirito! Nobody's seen you for 3 days! Where have you been this whole time? Sinon is going crazy looking for you, and Liz is downright depressed because she thinks everything's her fault." Silica blurted out everything she could in the span of 5 five seconds, before stopping to take a breath.

"I've been in lower levels helping people out." Kirito didn't seem worried at all, even though everything was a total wreck ever since he left.

"I don't know, all is seems like you're doing is flirting with pretty girls." Silica had a disappointed look on her face as the two girls on the other side of the table turned bright red with their bodies spelling out "nervous". One of them had purple hair, purple eyes, and purple armor on. Her skin was pale, but she seemed like the kind of person who would really stand out in a crowd. The other girl had bright, vibrant red hair with brown eyes and freckles. She didn't have armor on, but something more like Kirito's style. A greyish black cloak with dark red shoulder pads. She didn't have any armor on. Kirito looked at Silica with embarrassment in his eyes, and he waved his hands trying to indicate that he wasn't flirting.

"No, no! It's uhh... not like that. I was showing them around the town.."

"And buying them food?" Silica put her fists to her hips in disapproval.

"Ye.. Yeah." Kirito had a defeated look on his face. Silica was partly joking. Partly. Either way, she could tell that both of the girls were into Kirito, just like every other girl who's met him.

"Kirito, you have to come back. Everyone needs you!" Silica was worried about Liz and Sinon. They were freaking out the most.

"I can't go back Silica. Being a solo player was a lonely life, and still is, but as long as I'm solo, none of you can get hurt because of me." Kirito's face turned dark, and he looked down onto the table letting his thick, jet black hair fall over his face.

"I can't protect you guys anymore. My mind is made up. Tell Liz that it isn't her fault." Kirito stood up, and waved to the two girls just staring at him. His look lighted up a little as he spoke to them.

"Heh, sorry, I gotta go. If you guys need anything, just message me." Kirito proceeded to walk out the door, leaving some money on the table to pay for the meal. Silica ran out to follow him.

"Kirito, wait!" Silica yelled from the restaurant's entrance, right before he activated his teleport crystal. "I... I'm coming with you." She had a very serious look on her face.

"Silica-" Hewas interrupted.

"If you aren't coming with me, I'm coming with you" There was no question in her voice. Silica could see the depression in Kirito's heart, and couldn't leave him alone... Even if it meant leaving the others behind.

"But.. what about our level difference?" Kirito tried to think up excuses.

"I've been grinding day and night. My level is as high as yours if not higher." Silica smirked.

Kirito was really unsure about this, but he just couldn't turn her down. Kirito remembered back to SAO. Being a solo player was so lonely. You talked to people sometimes, yeah. It didn't progress though. A 20 minute conversation was usually the most he would get if the person wasn't being helped by him.

"Alright." He gave up. "But you better not get in my way.." They both smiled as Kirito received a punch in the gut.

**Well, that's chapter 7. I hope the Q and A helped, as I tried to answer a few of the bigger questions. Well, leave your reviews and stuffs in the reviews section like always. Also, I decided to write a small outline type thing so that my mind doesn't always break from me trying to progress in the story.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey, so I wanted to get this chapter out as quick as possible. It's got some emotion to it, and will hopefully lighten your feelings about Silica... Hopefully. Well, regardless, enjoy!**

Kirito handed Silca a teleport crystal set to floor 6. It had been about a month since this game started, and yet that's as far as anybody's gotten. Kirito's level was still way higher than Silica's, but she was still able to farm in the easier parts of the dungeon he was in. They stayed fairly close in case of any red players. There were things that Silica wanted to tell Kirito. She wanted to tell him about everything he should know himself. How Liz and Sinon and even Leafa were deeply in love with him. She wanted to tell him that even she used to like him. Silica was the only one that had given up on Kirito, but she hoped the others would had too. They were too blinded to see he truly loved somebody else and that was that… or so she thought.

"Silica, could I tell you something that I've only told one other person?" Kirito had stopped her from teleporting, and his face went dark again. He felt that if she was going to stay with him, then they would have to be honest with each other.

"Le.. lets go to my place first. If it's important, I wouldn't want anybody to hear it." Silica had realized what she had just said, hoping Kirito wouldn't take that sentence the wrong way.

Kirito nodded, and they changed the location of the crystals to Silica's small inn room. When they tapped the crystals, some fancy particle effects appeared before Silica was teleported to the inn's entrance, as was Kirito. They both walked through the entrance, and was greeted with a small wave from the counter worker, who seemed pretty tired. She had to work the night shift, and Silica saw her often lately. She waved back before dragging Kirito, who was standing still admiring the interior of the inn, upstairs to her room. Kirito took a moment to notice how surprisingly short Silica was, even though she was the same age as him. She had the same adorable face as always. As She unlocked and opened the door, Kirito stepped inside after her, as they proceeded to sit down on the small bed in the corner of the room. The room wasn't much, but it was Silica's home. There was a small bed, just big enough for Kirito, and a table next to it. To the direct left of the entrance wall was a closet with a sliding door, and to the right was a mini kitchen area. The carpet and hardwood walls were common in cheap inns, so they were no surprise.

"So Kirito, what did you want to talk about?" Silica was worried for him.

"I.. I wanted to tell you about my love for Asuna." Kirito spoke softly, as his voice became brittle. "I do.. I don't think I love her anymore." He calmed down a bit, as the words were pulled from his throat.

"Kirito, I know." Silica looked down to her knees, and at the hands that rested upon them. "Sinon told us about the message you received from Kayaba. We're all sorry." Something deep inside Silica told her she needed to be honest with Kirito. He needed to know.

"Kirito, I need to be honest with you. Liz, Sinon, and Leafa are all deeply in love with you… Even I was too at one point." Silica let the words slip out of her mouth, worried of what Kirito would think. She saw his head drop, seeming not too surprised by her words. He put his hands over his face, and let out a muffled weep.

"I know." Kirito's voice was barely stable, and muffled through his hands. "Well, I think I know." He sat up and removed his hands from his face. "I never wanted to accept it, but somewhere deep down, I knew it was true. After the incident with Sugu- uh, Leafa, I've been trying to deny the fact that they're in love with me, because I just couldn't go through the guilt again. I couldn't hear them say it, and couldn't imagine them crying all night because if it. I guess I've been avoiding the situation." Tears started to stream down his face, as he couldn't accept the fact that he's hurt almost everybody in his party on a daily basis, because he's denied their affection toward him. "I.. I'm sorry Silica. I never wanted to accept that I was hurting you all, but I think I've always known deep down. I ignored signs of affection, hoping they would go away. I acted like they were signs of friendship, and nothing more. Please forgive me.." Kirito fell over on Silica with his arms around her as he cried on her shoulder.

"Kirito…" Silica remembered when Kirito told her that she was like a little sister to him. She had been shot down, and after hearing it several more time throughout SAO, she gave up on him. She couldn't imagine the guilt Kirito had felt right now. Years upon years of ignorance of love, and it all piled up on him. All of that topped off with Asuna. Silica hugged him back, and started to stroke his back. She was barely able to support his weight with her brittle arms, but she appreciated his warmth. She wanted nothing more than to comfort him. Silica hated to see anybody in distress; especially her friends.

"It's okay Kirito. I forgive you, and I think the others would too." Silica whispered softly into his ear, as Kirito grew tired and fell asleep to her soft words. Silica fell asleep next to him, and didn't regret anything she had told him. She never resented Kirito, and never would. Though Silica gave up on her affection for Kirito, she still enjoyed the moment as if she hadn't. She had almost cuddled up to him, but thought to keep her distance. He was just so warm, it was hard to resist. Silica was glad she had seen Kirito. She always felt like a third, or maybe even fourth wheel in the group, like a less important person. Now she knew that she was cared for, even if it was just for a little while.

**I'm not going to lie, I originally had intention to pair them up for a small amount of time, with maybe a bit of lemon before the main event, because Silica is my second choice. As far as the part with Liz goes, Kirito clearly had no affection for her in the kiss, though he tried to make her not regret doing it. I guess I'll have to make Kirito x Silica its own Fanfic later. :T Well anyway, leave your comments in the reviews section! I hope you liked it.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Well, here's chapter 9. I don't have much to say except that Sinon and Kirito is still a thing, I just wanna build up to it. That's the whole point of the story, so I don't want to rush it.**

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Kirito woke up to the sound of somebody knocking at the door. Apparently, Silica was a really heavy sleeper.

"Hey, Silica! Are you there? I think I may have a lead on where Kirito is!" Sinon's voice was muffled through the wall, but still loud enough to hear.

Kirito poked Silica's face, without moving in the bed. It was cheap and noisy, and he didn't want Sinon to know he was there. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw Kirito's face in front of hers. She could feel his warm breath against her face, and she suddenly realized they were both in bed, and her arms were around him in a very suggestive way, as were her legs. She suddenly freaked, and fell out of her bed. Silica screamed out of embarrassment, not realizing Sinon was at the door.

"Silica? Are you okay in there? Can I come in?" Sinon seemed eager.

"Yeah su-" She saw Kirito, now standing, waving his hands and shaking his head in disapprovement. "Uhh, gimme a minute. I'm changing!" She was still dressed in her armor, and was burning inside of it. A silent gesture was made to go into the small closet and shut the door, and Kirito tiptoed over to it. "Okay, you can come in now."

Sinon walked into the room, seeing Silica nervously smiling on her bed. She wasn't sure about her mood, but went with it.

"So, I talked to these cute girls yesterday, and they said they saw a sexy guy in black clothes and no armor, who helped them out." Silica mumbled to herself '_you don't say...'_ "There was another girl with him, who was short. Was that you Silica?"

She was hesitant to answer, but then there was a sudden _CRASH _coming from the closet, followed by a "Dammit!" They both turned their attention to the closet, and Sinon had gotten out her bow.

"Come out or I'll shoot." They were in a safe zone, but she wanted to sound intimidating.

The door slid open, followed by Kirito tumbling out of it along with a lot of other things. He looked to be in a very awkward, uncomfortable position. Sinon's eyes suddenly went wide, and she ran over to Kirito and hugged him, tearing up.

"Where the hell have you been?!" She parted from him for about 2 seconds to slap him in the face, then hugged him again. "I thought I- uh, we.. I thought we lost you!" Sinon wanted to kiss him, but she didn't want to ruin the moment. "If you EVER leave again, I'll slit your throat! You hear me!?" She suddenly got really scary, for a moment, then hugged him again.

Kirito was just sitting there, listening to her words and feeling her hugs… and getting slapped. He actually felt happy, but he thought he had made a mistake staying with Silica for the night.

"Listen, Sinon. I can't stay. Too many people have gotten hurt because of me in SAO, and I don't want-" He was stopped by the sound of a handcuff on his hand, and Sinon defiantly saying "Nope." She had handcuffed his arm to hers.

"Isn't this a bit… drastic?" Kirito had an embarrassed and regretful look on his face, hoping it was a joke.

Silica just stood there, not really knowing what to do. There was an awkward silence for about a minute before Sinon unlocked the cuff, and spoke again. "Do I make myself clear?" Kirito winced.

"Yeah…" He wasn't sure if he was going to stay, but Sinon had him pretty convinced that he should. Kirito felt bad about how he just left, without any warning ahead of time. He also didn't want to see anybody. He wasn't ready to apologise to Liz, or Leafa, or anybody else. Kirito always knew that people looked up to him as "strong". He Didn't think he knew what strength even was, even though he's talked about it all too many times. He tried to forget about it, and act as intact as he could. At this point, Kirito would rather fake strength then accept being weak.

"Well, I'm going to the higher floors to do some leveling. Silica's got good enough gear to farm there. You should come too if you feel like you're ready." Kirito grinned, as if he was challenging Sinon or teasing her.

"Ready? I guess you aren't aware that I was farming at the higher levels all day while looking for you. I'm probably a higher level then you are!" Sinon started getting really competitive with Kirito, though he showed no sign of worry, and kept his grin.  
Sinon proceeded to shove her menu into his face, showing him her level.

"Ha! Beat that!" Kirito slowly moved his hand down, bringing up his menu. He went to his stats, and then slowly moved the screen towards her. Sinon's eyes went wide and her mouth dropped 3 dungeons, as she saw his level which was more than twice hers. Kirito confidently walked past her, grabbing her tail for a quick moment in the process. He started running after that, knowing she would chase him… and she did. Silica followed in the back.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Silica didn't know what the heck was going on or where anybody was going, but she didn't want to be left behind. Kirito's speed was far greater than Sinon's, because of his level, and his almost-maxed-out agility skill. As he was almost out of sight, Sinon saw Kirito throw down a teleport crystal. She stopped chasing him and picked it up, but Silica had caught up to spoil the mystery.

"That goes to the dungeon he was talking about. He gave me one earlier. I think he wants us to meet him there." Silica was confident, because it looked the same and had the same glow. It was a custom dungeon teleport, meaning you could set it to go wherever you want as long as it's in a dungeon. The color and glow of the crystal depended on where it was currently set. Sinon was genuinely happy at the moment, but she had a part of her now that worried he would run off again and never come back, no matter what happened. The two cait syth girls were going to tap the crystal, when Sinon suddenly had a new fear pop into her head. She thought about what Silica and Kirito did last night. _The could have kissed, or made out. _Her mind shuddered to think about it. _What.. what if Kirito put his… in her…_ Sinon suddenly panicked, and tried to shut the image out of her head.

"Hey Silica," Sinon asked, "did you… 'do' anything with Kirito last night?" Sinon looked really jealous.

"What!? No!" Silica's face turned red, and she fanned it with her hands like she was getting hot. "I wouldn't do that with Kirito…" Sinon wasn't completely convinced, but she believed her for now. They both hit their teleport crystals and were transported to the dungeon where Kirito was supposedly waiting.

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**I hope you enjoyed the chapter, leave a review to.. well.. review my story. You can also leave suggestions or maybe tell me things that I may have missed.**


	10. Chapter 9

**I'd just like to remind some people of a few things before we move on. If you're completely happy with my story and have little to no complaints, you can go ahead and skip this. Anyway, there are a few things I want to get across real quick. First of all, I'm not perfect. Oh no, not even close. I do try my best on stories, but I'm no professional and I'm definitely not as good as many others on this site. I do try though, so direct hate does do shit to me. Ha, just kidding. I feel no pain. Oh, and also, I'm just your average SAO fan. That means that I don't know every fact about SAO ever off the top of my head, and a lot of times I'm too lazy to search them up. Things may not be 100% accurate with the storyline, but after all, this IS a fanfiction. And finally, those of you who still aren't convinced of how the Amusphere could kill you, for god's sake... The thing can remotely control your mind with the touch of a button. Killing you wouldn't be so hard. (And by the way, I just realized I mentioned her making breakfast 3 times. Don't worry, Asuna's not fat. I fixed it. I'm so tired... ;_;)**

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She woke up in her cozy bed starting the day like most others. She brushed her hair, tool a shower, changed her clothes, and then headed downstairs. A colossal fridge was waiting for her in the Kitchen, where she grabbed some food and made a small breakfast. It was Saturday, so she had most of the day to herself. The first thing that popped into her mind wasn't to visit Kirito, like it had been for the past few weeks. She visited him every day for the first week, but then she started visiting less and less. Once every 2 days, then 3, 4, every week, and it had been going down from there. The girl was just too busy with her studies and hobbies to visit him. She had lost contact with her new best friend, who was presumably in the death game with Kirito with the rest of the Sleeping Knights... If they had not died yet. Asuna thought about the last time she saw Kirito. She didn't hug him, or kiss him, or even wave. There was only a guilty stare from the both of them. She felt guilty and worried. Asuna had started avoiding Kirito at that point, because of the horrible thing she'd done. It really didn't seem like much to the average person, but Asuna felt really bad about it. One of the guys from the Sleeping Knights group she had joined had asked her out, not knowing she had a boyfriend. Asuna didn't remember much of what happened that night, except that they made out for a short period of time. She had done it because she was troubled. Kirito was having constant fights with her, and they rarely came to a compromise. It was a mistake, and she knew that. As long as Kirito never found out, she could just forget about the whole thing, apologize for being a lousy girlfriend, and they'd be a happy couple again. That's how it worked, right? Asuna suddenly realized how much she was growing away from Kirito. She blamed Kayaba. He split them apart, and she would never get Kirito back if she couldn't see him until 2, maybe even 3 years from now. By then he'll be dating some other hottie who looked a lot better than her. She's probably be a total dumb ass too. The thought of some other girl resting her lips upon Kirito's angered her. She couldn't let that happen. Asuna didn't care what it took; she had to find a way into ALO, even if it meant risking her life. She called up the nurse who was watching over Kirito, and asked about it. Though the idea seemed crazy, apparently there was a way to do it.

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"Hey! You guys made it!" Kirito was far away fighting some wolves, thought Sinon and Silica could still see him waving. They just waved back.

"I'll meet up with you in a second. Don't aggro anything!" Kirito's voice was faint in the distance, but still heard. Sinon and Silica sat down on the hard, rough floor below them taking in their surroundings. The terrain was pretty rocky, and the sky looked polluted. There was nothing but mud, dirt, rocks, and a few grass patches for miles. There were a few wolves beside the ones Kirito was fighting, Since the world tree was only so big, there was no possible way this whole place could fit into it. Sinon questioned if they were really inside the world tree, but Silica was mostly just looking around. She was taken by the light brown atmosphere, and by the dirty muddy plains. It was a depressing place, yet quite beautiful. The light breeze eased her senses, and white clouds painted a picture across the sky. Kirito finished off the wolves and jogged toward the two girls. They were sitting back to back, thinking about god knows what. Maybe him? Sinon and Silica both heard Kirito's hard footsteps, and looked toward his direction when he stopped in front of them.

"So, I would rather you guys started off easy, since you're both way lower levels than me."

Kirito pointed to some mud golems to his left, who seemed pretty easy to kill.

"Hey, what do you take me for? I can fight any monster that you can fight." Silica started getting jealous of Kirito's level, and she was angered at him talking about how she had to stick with the 'easy' monsters. "Just watch me!"

She quickly went for a high level wolf, and struck it once with her dagger as Pina struck it with bubble breath. She quickly changed her mind about fighting it, as it took a fourth of her health with a single hit. Silica suddenly filled with panic, and she ran like hell. The wolf chased her around, and Kirito just stood there laughing. After 30 seconds or so, Kirito decided just ran up to the wolf and 2 shot it with a small combo. He snickered at Silica, who was completely out of breath. She had agreed to fight the lower level mobs in the Dungeon without question after that. Kirito fought some mid level rock golems fairly close to Silica and Sinon, so he could save them if they were in danger. No, wait. Not save them. Kirito knew he was no hero, and that he couldn't act like he was. He was going to help them if they got into trouble, but they were strong. For the next few hours, they farmed levels. It got quite boring after a while, but the gold the three were getting was crazy. They had nearly enough individually for an S-Class ingredient! Sinon was ready for quits, and she wanted to go home. It was getting late.

"Hey guys, I think I'm done farming for today. How about you?" Sinon shouted over to Kirito and Silica, who were off in another area. There was a brief silence, then Kirito spoke.

"I'm ready to go, but Silica says she wants to stay a bit longer." Kirito was hesitant about leaving her behind, not knowing about her being used to farming at night. He argued with her for a small while, then dropped the case. Sinon ran over to her two companions, proceeding to make an excuse for Kirito to stay the night at her place. It had been a while, and making a move was probably okay now.

"Hey Kirito, I get a bit scared at my home during the dark. It's a low class area. Mind staying the night?" She just went for it, hoping with all her heart that the outcome would be yes.

"Okay, sure. Whatever makes you feel better." Kirito was completely clueless about Sinon's intentions, though she wasn't sure about them herself. They both headed to the teleport hub near her apartment, and headed there.

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**That's all for now. I'm sorry I couldn't get this chapter out sooner, but school started back up from Spring Break, which means more homework T-T.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 11, done! I'm quite proud of the direction this chapter went in, even if some may not be. There's a slight chance that this could be the ending. I'd love to get feedback on it, because I'm not sure if I should keep it at this or not. I don't really have much planned from here on out, so It'd all be from scratch. Tell me what you think about it. Also, this chapter may be the slightest bit graphic as far as blood goes. Well, Enjoy!**

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"So, since there's only one bed, I guess we'll both be sleeping in it, right?" Kirito saw the single bed, only hoping that Sinon didn't have kicking habits in her sleep.

Sinon was startled by Kirito's question. She was in the bathroom brushing her teeth. "What!? I.. I mean, I wouldn't want to trouble you with that…" Sinon's face turned a ripe tomato color, though the bathroom door was closed, so she was isolated from him. "I uh, can sleep on the floor if you want the bed. It's no trouble, really."

Kirito was against this, at he didn't want Sinon to have a bad sleep because of him. "If you want, I can just sleep in a chair or something. It's no big deal."

Sinon wanted to object, but Kirito was too selfless to argue with. She walked out of the bathroom, changed into a bra and panties. They were nothing overly sexy or anything. In fact, her outfit was pretty casual.

"I.. have no problem if you want to sleep in the bed with me, I just thought you might want a bit more space." Sinon's voice was small, as she was a bit embarrassed for showing this much skin in front of Kirito.

"If you're okay with it. I just don't want you to be sleep deprived because of me." Kirito didn't care much about his own sleep. It was fluxuating already anyway.

"It's fine, as long as you're okay with it."

Sinon, who didn't want to seem embarrassed or budged by the situation, acted like it wasn't a big deal, even though she thought it was. Kirito removed his shirt from the player console, then got into the bed. Sinon followed his actions, getting in on the other side. She hesitated, watching him for any signs of nervousness or anxiousness. To her relief and disappointment, Kirito's eyes were already closed. He must've been tired from farming if he fell asleep that fast. Sinon proceeded to pull the blanket over herself and snuggle up close to Kirito. She was met with him face to face, though he didn't see her. Kirito looked so cute and comforted in his slumber, which made her happy.

Blue hair swept across Kirito's face as Sinon came in real close, feeling his soft breath on her. She hadn't realized how close she was until now, but decided not to move away. Sinon wanted nothing more than to cuddle with Kirito at this moment, but she knew she couldn't. She really had planned to make a move, but nothing ended up happening. Maybe she would try something in the morning. For now, the skilled archer, stuck in a wonderful horrible world, would close her eyes in hopes that this moment would last forever. She then opened them again when she felt something dig into her thigh.

Her eyes widened when she realized Kirito's member was fully erect, pushing on her. The situation suddenly became quite awkward, and there was no telling what to do. Should she just stay in the same position and just wait for it to go away? What if it doesn't? Maybe it would be better to move? Sinon suddenly gained a slight curiosity of the size of Kirito's junk. She quickly ducked her head under the covers, looking down at her legs. The size was clearly visible from his pants, which weren't very helpful at hiding it. It seemed pretty big; definitely bigger than average. She had never seen a real one before, though she watched porn from time to time. She only gained curiosity from looking at the size, but hesitated to go further. Sinon ultimately decided against doing anything else, and just moved her leg back. She dreamt of a small doll. It looked and smelled like Kirito. His face was cute, and he looked like a chibi. Sinon suddenly felt a need to stab the doll. She didn't want to, but lost control of her body as her hand slowly pulled a needle out of her pocket. She slowly threaded it through the fragile doll. It didn't seem to bad, as it was just a doll. She did it over and over again, with slight horror noticing that blood that was escaping the holes. It was just a little at first, but within minutes was gushing out. She had no control over what she was doing, and could only look up. Sinon faced a mirror, where she saw a reflection of Asuna.

Sinon jumped as she awoke from her horrible nightmare, sitting up in the process. She was silent, but her head was spinning. Kirito awoke next to her, with his eyes barely open. It was still dark, but she was wide awake. Kirito noticed the expression on her face, and gained a sense of worry for her.

"Are you okay Sinon?" He asked her, still quite confused.

Sinon took a deep breath, and stopped shaking. She looked Kirito, seeing the worry in his eyes. She didn't answer his question, but instead fell into his arms. Sinon hugged him and started to cry. She didn't know what the dream meant, or why she was sad, but cried anyway.

"It's okay Sinon, I'm here for you." Kirito put his arms around her, and slowly pat her back as he whispered softly into her ear. Kirito didn't know how much longer he could be in this world. It hurting everybody, physically and emotionally. New relationships were born, and yet, many were torn apart by death, and the will to survive. Though, even if he was stuck in a videogame, everybody he truly cared about was here, and wherever he was now was reality. Asuna hadn't crossed his mind when he thought about their group. Maybe he had forgotten about her. Maybe he had moved on. And with that final thought, Something sparked inside Kirito. It was similar to what he felt with Asuna. Similar, but different. He didn't quite understand it, but he thought it might be love. Kirito made a decision in that moment, and though it was spontaneous, it was something lingering in the deep depths of his mind for a while. Something that had never come up until now.

"Sinon, I don't know why, but I need you. Can we be together until this horror ends?" Kirito asked the question, not worried about the answer. He already knew what it was.

She only nodded, and they didn't break away from the hug for what seemed like hours.

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**Well, chapter 11 everybody. All I have to say is in feedback, starting it off with "You suck at life" isn't going to make me take your review too seriously. Just a note.**


	12. Chapter 11

**Due to harsh feedback, I've decided to redo chapter 12. If you have already read the previous version of the chapter, go ahead and disregard it. I'm sorry that there isn't a "new" chapter this week, but I put a lot of time into this one, so I hope you enjoy! (BTW, cream puff warning! I had some before I wrote this, so that's why.)**

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Sinon sat on Kirito's bed. She wondered why he had called her over. It had been several weeks since they had been "together"... whatever that meant. Sinon had noticed that he avoided words like 'Dating' or 'Couple' for whatever reason, which confused Sinon of whether they were actually dating or not. They had never kissed, nor had sex or anything like that, but Kirito was always asking to hang out together. He had neglected to join the front lines for the sake of spending time with Sinon, and yet he seemed less and less happy every day. Kirito had quite a weight on his shoulders. Word got out that he was the Black Swordsman of SAO not too long ago, and since then he had been getting constant publicity, and almost no time to himself. Kirito's message inbox was always full, whether it was a friend request, an angry message about his "responsibility" to join the front lines, or a death threat. He started gaining distance in between the group and himself again, and it bothered Sinon more than anybody else. She was really worried about him. Kirito had called her over now though, and she anticipated what he wanted.

She wondered about if Kirito wanted anything like sex. She had never actually done it before, though she thought about it like any other teenager. Sinon's mind slowly drifted off into places not suitable for younger audiences. (ehem) She thought about Kirito's probably-pretty large cock. Sinon started reaching for her genetals when he suddenly called her name from another room. "Sinon, are you hungry?" Sinon snapped back into reality, almost embarrassed for thinking such vile thoughts.

"Sure. Wha-what'd you make?" She was slightly worried that Kirito's cooking wasn't quite top notch.

"I'm making cream puffs. They're just about the most complex thing I can cook with my low cooking level." Sinon chuckled at the thought that Kirito had devoted any points at all in cooking. She didn't see a point in doing it. Those points were better spent on a sword skill, or archery skill in her case. On the other hand, she did like cream puffs.

Kirito walked through the doorway connecting the bedroom and kitchen several minutes later with a large plate of mini cream puffs in his hand. He popped one into his mouth, then sat down next to Sinon setting the plate in between them. Sinon grabbed one, then took a small bite out of it, exposing the thick white substance inside.

"Mhmm! These are good!" Sinon's expression lit up with happiness, or one might even say anger at how tasty they were. "You made these?"

Kirito rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I did. Are they really that good?"

Sinon started clumsily eating more, but wasn't able to speak because her mouth was so full. She made a satisfied "Mhmm", answering Kirito's question. Sinon had paused when she realized that Kirito wasn't eating any. Sinon suddenly got a weird idea. With her eagerness for a kiss from Kirito grew, she thought about feeding Kirito a cream puff that was wedges in between her lips. Sinon herself wasn't all for the idea, but she was so desperate for a kiss that she'd try anything at this point.

Sinon pushed the plate aside, freeing space for her to scooch up close to Kirito. As he noticed her, he started to blush in a slightly awkward manner, completely oblivious to what the girl in front of him was trying to do. Sinon suddenly hesitated. She suddenly doubted the action she was about to take, and froze. Her face was only a few inches away from Kirito's, and question popped into her head that she had thought about every day.

"Kirito, remember when I retrieved the Excalibur for you?" Sinon knew he did, but felt that she needed to ask it anyway.

"Yeah, of course. Why?" Kirito was confused. He could feel Sinon's soft breath on his skin. It was almost comforting.

"When you said that you'll always remember me in your heart, did you mean it?" Kirito was startled by the question. "Sinon... I-"

Before He could reply, Sinon suddenly closed the gap between their lips. She didn't want to hear the answer. She wasn't afraid of what it might be, but more just tried his answers being spoken. If Kirito meant what he said, there would be no hesitation to kiss her back, and no discomfort. Kirito felt Sinon's lips touch his, and her tongue slowly making its way out of her mouth, and lightly rubbing the inside of his lip asking for entrance. Kirito didn't interfere, and slowly moved his tongue to meet hers. Kirito was still interpreting the situation, but he knew that he didn't want it to stop. Sinon put her arms around his waist, as he did did the same with her, and she slowly pulled him down on the bed. Sinon's back kept moving down until itcwas flat on the bed, with Kirito's warm body over her; like a blanket. Kissing Kirito was everything Sinon had hoped it would be if not more, and she wanted that moment to last forever. Though, it was only a short amount of time before they broke apart. As weird as it sounded, neither Sinon nor Kirito knew what to do next. They were both inexperienced. Kirito had never done more than a Strong kiss with Asuna, and he was clueless of what came after that. As they both hesitated, Sinon thought of removing Kirito's shirt, to expose the sexy abs underneath. She had seen Kirito shirtless once or twice on accident, though she never got a good look at him. She reached for his shirt, and he took the hint, helping lift his shirt over his head. Sinon looked at the color of it, suddenly realizing she had never seen Kirito wear anything but black in games. It was just a small thing that she thought was funny. Kirito slowly lifted up Sinon's shirt after she had gestured to, and it revealed a black bra with bright blue linings, just like from GGO.

Kirito was leaned in to kiss Sinon again, but hesitated when he heard a knock at the door. He slowly got up, leaving Sinon on the bed to go open the door. She sat up, peering through the doorway into the main room where Kirito was about to open the door. A cheerful girl with light blue hair was waiting at the door. She had a smile on her face, and pounced on Kirito without hesitation. Kirito was now on the floor of his apartment, looking into the eyes of the girl he once loved. He wasn't happy. In fact, he was almost horrified. Kirito was completely frozen, as he watched Asuna's smile turn into a frown. She saw the lack of expression on Kirito's face, then looked up to the apartment. The first thing she noticed was Sinon, shirtless, in the back room. Asuna looked back down to Kirito, and saw the lack of a top on him. She slowly took in the situation, and realized what she had just walked into.

Filled with horror, tears streamed down Asuna's face as she slowly got up. She ran like hell, refusing to accept the sight she had seen.

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**Was it better? Worse? About the same? Leave your comments and feedback in the reviews!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Alright, major feels warning ;_;. Though I'm actually pretty proud of this chapter, just know that I'm not a cruel person, and it was extremely hard to write this. Like, REALLY FUGGIN HARD. So, if it's too much for you, don't hate me, okay? Well, enjoy.**

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Kirito ran past person after person, chasing the crying girl npt far in front of him.

"Asuna, wait!" Kirito didn't exactly know what he was going to say to Asuna, but he did know that she deserved an explanation. "I can explain!"

The Black Swordsman kept running through the small town, but he didn't notice that Asuna had stopped in her tracks right in front of him. As Kirito ran toward her blindly, a hard blow was delivered directly to his nose. He fell over backwards, temporarily blinded from the impact of her fist. Though there was little pain in SAO, it left an unsettling feeling on his face. Kirito rubbed his nose and started to get up, seeing, Asuna stomping away furiously. He heard voices around him whispering and mumbling. "Isn't that the Black Swordsman?" "We're risking our lives and this asshole is chasing girls." "He's totally useless. I could probably beat him in a duel." Kirito shuddered to think what "The Black Swordsman" had come to mean for people. Was he even considered a hero anymore? At this point, Kirito started to remember real well why he didn't fight on the front lines. The more he fought like that, the more stressed he became. But now wasn't any different. Kirito was constantly being harassed by others like tgey were the ones who beat SAO and I was a lazy bum who wated.

"I need to talk to you! My apartment, 8 pm!" Kirito shouted at her from a distance away. Though she didn't turn around or show any sign that she had heard him, Kirito knew that Asuna would be there. He still had no idea what to say, but maybe talking to Sinon about it would be a good idea. Kirito PM'd her, asking for some advice. When she received the message, she wasn't too happy. She knew he felt guilty about it, and she felt bad for Asuna, but she didn't want Kirito to leave her. Sinon didn't want to lose Kirito after he was only just within her grasp. The skilled archer, who had started walking home from Kirito's place, thought about if there was any way she could stay with him without Asuna getting mad. She marveled at the idea. For now, Sinon didn't reply.

Asuna had hesitated to close the door behind her when she walked outside of her small apartment on floor two. Asuna had thought about what closing the door really meant. She knew that as soon as she closed that door, she would have to hear Kirito talk. Even if she did want to see him, and even if she did feel bad. Asuna didn't want to face Kirito. Not because of what he had done to her, but because what she had done was far worse. Whether he knew about her cheating on him or not, Kirito always seemed to keep his cool when she forgot about their dates, when they fought about pointless things, when she ignored him, and even when he risked his life time and time again so that Asuna could live her own.

Asuna closed the door behind her, ready to face Kirito. She didn't want to have this talk with him, but she knew it had to be done. As she walked forward into the darkness of the night, Kirito stood waiting at his apartment on floor 12. He didn't think to go back inside, because though Asuna was late, the Black Swordsman was able to predict her thoughts better than she could herself. Asuna tapped the teleport crystal to go to floor 12. A small warning popped up, signalling that it'll be really difficult to fight the monsters in the twelfth floor. The warning urged Asuna not to teleport, but she moved it aside and teleported. She was still level 1, because she didn't have time to grind or just kill monsters in general. It didn't worry her, because that was obviously not the reason she was going there. As Asuna started to teleport, she started to wonder why there were anything but monsters in the World Tree, because there was a whole other world outside. She felt her body slowly start to dematerialize as the teleport crystal had been activated, and Asuna's view was soon clouded by a whole wall of particles around her before arriving inside if the twelfth floor. She took in her surroundings. There were many other players in the area, though all of them had much higher level armor than she had.

Asuna walked to Kirito's house, avoiding any contact with people. Some of them tried to ask her if she needed some higher level stuff, or some tutorials on weaponry, or just tours of floor twelve. It seemed like every guy wanted to try and be friends with her, but she just walked past them as if they hadn't even said anything. Though cruel it was, it was probably the best approach. Asuna had reached the door to Kirito's apartment in about 15 minutes. She knocked on the door, face to the floor Kirito answered seconds later, opening the door without a word. The 10's of seconds where Asuna and Kirito proceeded to the couch in the middle of the living room and sat down was beyond awkward. They both sat in silence. Asuna was the first to speak up.

"When you were with her, did you proceed with knowing what I did?" Asuna talked softly, but sternly. There was no eye contact. "If you mean cheating, no. Everything else though..." Kirito was ready to complain about everything Asuna did, but he didn't feel like it was the right time to. He waited for Asuna's next question.

"How far did you go?" Asuna wanted to get as much information out of Kirito as she could, but she could only hope she wouldn't cross the line.

"We were making out when you knocked, but we were going to go further." Kirito knew the situation was tense, but he was able to answer truthfully because he wasn't ashamed nor guilty of what he did.

Asuna bit her lip before talking this time. "I have just one more question. Did you do it because you love her, or because I wouldn't have sex with you?"

Kirito opened his mouth to answer, but Asuna suddenly covered it. She didn't want to hear the answer, because she was afraid it wouldn't be what she wished it to be. Asuna suddenly started to break down. She denied all trace of thoughts that Kirito was in love with Sinon. She didn't want to accept it. Asuna pushed Kirito's back onto the couch. Her face was horrifying, and she was in tears. Kirito almost thought he saw a smile. "Kirito, you still love me, right? You only did it because your desires got the best of you! I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you!" Kirito wanted to answer; he wanted to stop her, but he couldn't. He was frozen. " I'll have sex with you right now Kirito. Lets do it over and over again and forget about all this. Okay?" Asuna started to unbutton Kirito's shirt. She was crying harder than before, but then kissed Kirito. It wasn't passionate though; it was desparate. Kirito felt Asuna's lips on his, but he didn't enjoy it. As he pushed away from Asuna, she held onto him tighter, bawling now.

"Kirito, please! Please don't shut me out! Remember everything we've been through together? It wasn't all for nothing, right?!"

Kirito couldn't bear to see Asuna like this. It this meetup had gone far worse than he'd planned for. "Asuna, stop! This isn't right!" Kirito couldn't get her off, so he did the only thing he could think of. He didn't want to do it, and he knew he would regret it later, but it was his only choice. He lifted his foot up to Asuna's lower stomach, with just enough force to push her off of him. Kirito leaped over the couch, and flew into the nearest room. The door shut loudly behind him. " As Asuna felt the feeling of betrayal crawl up her spine, the signs became more and more clear to her. Kirito obviously moved on from their relationship, and Asuna obviously hasn't. She still refused to accept the facts, and scrambled to the door. The greatest swordswomen of SAO and ALO, now breaking down in a puddle of her own tears. She pounded on the door, calling Kirito's name; calling out that faint chance that he might still love her. On the other side of the door, Kirito had his back against it, silently crying into his own hands. Seeing Asuna take those actions, kicking her in the stomach, hearing and feeling every bang she made on the door. He hated it. He hated it all. Kirito wished that everything would end. His life, the noise, the thoughts, this dumb game, this dumb world... All of it. He hated all of it. Several minutes later the banging stopped, and the crying reduced to weeping. Kirito would stay in that room for as long as he needed to. He wasn't ready to face what lied beyond.

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**I'm going to be honest, I have no idea whether people will like this chapter. It was completely a shot in the dark, but there isn't progress without sacrifice. Right? I know for a fact that I've made some kirisuna enemies. Leave your reviews in... the reviews section. I might tone down the feels in this chapter if it's too much to bear.**


	14. Chapter 13

**Before you read this chapter, I want to say... or I guess write a few things. This started out as a story just kinda for myself, and my own fantasies, but since then it's become so much more. I just want to thank you guys for giving great feedback and supporting me along the way. I may have been a bit over dramatic last chapter about the feels, but I was pretty iffy about whether you guys would like that chapter. I definitely enjoyed it myself. Well, enough with the emotional talk. Here's chapter 14!**

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Kirito sat on the floor of the room for what seemed like days. Not a single word came out of him or the one behind him. Kirito knew that a door separated him from what was now his worst fear, and yet he couldn't speak or even turn around. Maybe if he didn't leave his position, Asuna would eventually leave. No, that's a horrible idea. Kirito knew he would be forced to face Asuna at one point or another, but he wanted to hold out as long as he could.

Kirito started to clear his mind and recalled everything that took place in the hours before. He thought about kicking Asuna, and how it was horrible. There's no possible way he could forgive himself for that, no question. But... he could at least try. Kirito knocked lightly on the door behind him.

"You know, I never would've thought anything like this would ever happen 3 years ago. When I first put on that silver helmet, all I wanted to do was escape a reality that was much better than I made it out to be." Kirito spoke softly, not wanting to burst his ears out after hours of silence.

"I wanted the same thing, but my reality and yours are a lot different, aren't they?" Asuna replied, continuing Kirito's soft tone through her own voice.

"Reality is wherever we are now... I guess I didn't know that back then." Kirito paced his words slowly.

Because Kirito had started talking to her again, Asuna decided to ask a small string of questions. She wanted to know what Sinon had that she didn't. Maybe then, she could win Kirito back.

"Kirito, do you really love her?"

"Yes."

"What about me?"

"You're… part of my past."

She cringed at the word 'past'.

"Why do you love her?"

"She's always been there for me."

Asuna was about to ask 'Wasn't I always there for you?' but she hesitated, knowing full well what the answer was.

"She wasn't there for you in SAO."

Kirito didn't know why, but he took that as an offense. He let it slide.

"There's no way she could've been."

"Is she going to be your last?"

"I don't know."

Kirito was tired of answering questions. He didn't like how Asuna was prying info from him. He stood up, and unlocked the door.

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Sinon was sitting at her home, when a thought popped into her head. _What if Kirito and Asuna make up? What if they got back together? What if she had lost Kirito?_ All these scenarios started to play in her head, making her throw her head back in curiosity. Sinon ran back to the apartment to check on Kirito. She made up an excuse for herself along the way, so she didn't feel like a creep. _Somebody could have... dueled him in his sleep… or something. _On her way back, she messaged him.

"_Kirito, are you okay? I'm worried about you, so I'm coming over to check on you. I'm almost there, so wait for me. Okay? [Sinon, 11:30pm]"_

Kirito saw the message, and sighed in relief. The situation he was in was way too awkward. As he opened the door, Asuna got a glimpse of the message that Sinon sent to him. Seeing this as her last chance to win him back, thought of a plan. It was a cruel one, but it would be worth it when Kirito was with her again. Asuna had become really good friends with Sinon over the years, so it would hurt her to do what she was about to do.

Asuna lied down on a nearby bed, and took her shirt off. "Hey, Kirito," she rubbed her arm a little bit out of nervousness, and guilt. "cou.. could I ask for just one favor from you?" She looked away from his face.

"I.. If you love Sinon, I understand, but if you're going to end our relationship here and now, could I, um.." She hesitated, until she heard a faint knock on the door outside the room. "Could I kiss you one last time?" Kirito went from an understanding look to a guiltful one.

"No, you can't." He sighed. "If I did, I would be cheating on Sinon. Plus, I don't want you to think that there's still something here. I'm sorry."

Asuna heard the door crack open, and she pulled Kirito close and smacked her lips on his. Kirito was taken by surprise, and he wasn't enjoying the kiss at all. He tried to pull away, but she jsut came closer. Asuna then started to rub her chest up against Kirito, like she was getting intimite with him.

Sinon knocked on the door, wondering what was happening on the other side. There was no answer, though she heard faint voices in the background. Sinon opened the door, and looked inside. The first thing she saw made her lose all contact with her body. She was suddenly frozen in dismay, not able to do anything about what she saw. Her emotional pain was so much, it seemed to have taken away a few life points. She thought about running. Shutting out the image. Sinon wanted to just disappear from the situation, but she thought back to when Asuna had seem them making out. She thought about how the girl in front of her stood in the same doorway of the same apartment, traumatized in the same way.

Not wanting to make the same mistake that Asuna did, she calmed down. Sinon took control of herself, and proceeded to cross her arms. "You have 30 seconds to explain before somebody's ass gets kicked." She was looking directly at Kirito, ignoring the horrible look on Asuna's face.

Kirito and Asuna were both silent, but for completely different reasons. Asuna was horrified that her plan didn't work; that Sinon didn't charge out the door like she did. Was this why Kirito preferred her? Was it because she didn't run away?

Kirito couldn't speak for several reasons. He was angry at Asuna on many levels, but also terrified that if he didn't get this right, then he would lose Sinon. He spoke up. "I… Asuna asked me for one final kiss, and I.." The black swordsman hesitated to continue his sentence as he remembered all the hardships Asuna went through in the past few years. Everything that she had done for him, and vise versa. Was she really at fault? "I was tempted, and I gave her one last kiss to end our relationship officially." Kirito didn't smile, but he was happy with his sentence, ready for whatever came next.

Sinon took a few deep breaths, and calmed herself down. "I.. I don't know if I can completely believe you, but I'll trust you." She had her doubts, but she wanted to trust Kirito.. for the good of their relationship. There was silence for a small while, and though not everybody was happy, nobody was sorrowed, or angered, or confused anymore.

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**So how was it? I'm still slightly iffy about this chapter and the direction I'm going in general, but based on your feedback I think you guys'll like it. Kudos. Oh, and also I'd like to tell you guys about a new story I'll be starting later on. It's an original I call "Sorrow". I'll probably be posting it on WordPress. More details later.**


	15. Chapter 14

**Why hello, my sweet succulent friends. It's Summer, and school is over for the next three months. So... more chapters! Although I do love all of my awesome dedicated readers, I do have a personal life, so pleathe understand my absence. Well, enjoy the chapter!**

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Asuna sat in the middle of the bed in her apartment on the 2nd floor. Tears started streaming down her face as she recalled the events of the night before. She remember how she completely lost control of her own emotions. Asuna tried to force herself upon Kirito, so that maybe he would love her again. The helpless girl slid her feet up the mattress as her knees met with her chest. She placed her arms around her legs, hugging them tightly. Her face fell into her knees, tears flying. She really was alone this time. She would have to accept that Kirito was no longer interested in her. She 'wasn't there for him' when he needed her. She went to sleep alone that night, really trying hard to hold on to the slight hope that Kirito might come to her, bursting through her door saying, "Asuna! I was wrong! I'm sorry, take me back!". But she knew it wouldn't happen.

Asuna dreamt of a dark, gloomy place. It was a large room with many people on the ground. The weren't dead, but.. they seemed to be struggling with movement. Everybody had a health bar above their head, which meant it was probably part of a VR game. Asuna herself could move just fine, but she felt weird. Her body almost felt like it wasn't there, but she could still feel her limbs and body. Everybody, though they couldn't move, were panicked. In the middle of it all, stood Kirito and Heathcliff. _This is SAO! _Asuna was shocked at the scene before her. Kirito and Heathcliff were in the midst of a heated battle. One of then striked, then the other. They were a blur of movement. Then suddenly, there was pause in Kirito's movements, as his sword hit the shield of his opponent. It cracked, then the blade split. For a brief moment, Kirito's face looked in horror, knowing that it was the end of the line. Asuna watched from far away, recalling the memory of these events. There was a girl in the crowd of limp bodies, who slowly stood up. With a quick jolt of energy, she dashed in front of Kirito.. However, it wasn't Asuna. It was another girl, wearing a green cloak, with glistening black hair. It was Sinon. Asuna's eyes widened as she couldn't help but yell out to everyone. "That's not what happened!" "That's not what happened!"

She swung her hand out as she dashed to Kirito, dashed to the one she loved. Sinon fell limp into his hands, as she bursted into a shroud of polygons. Asuna went for her sword, to kill Heathcliff. She knew what came next. Before She was able to grab hold of her weapon , the world around her started to de-materialize. First the ceiling, then the walls, and lastly, the floor. She fell beneath the now empty world that was her mind, until a new scene appeared before her.

There was a large metal cage around her. It was cylindrical, with a rounded top. The cage had no walls, only bars. It shined gold, and closely resembled a bird cage. She knew exactly where she was. This was ALO back before she had been rescued by Kirito from "Oberon". Asuna stared the door down, sensing Kirito's presence. He appeared shortly, quickly running to the bars to greet her. Yui was there too, yelling "Mama!" It made her tear up. Yui had broken the door open, and rushed inside the cage, arms open wide. Asuna was ready to be loved, to be hugged... But Yui passed by Asuna, and ran behind her, warmly welcomed into- into Sinon's arms. Asuna had brought more tears upon her face suddenly, but they were tears of sadness, loneliness. Kirito joined Yui and Sinon, leaving Asuna alone in what became complete darkness.

A light knock on the door woke Asuna up, and brought her up to her feet. She had quickly forgotten what she was dreaming about. Asuna checked the time, then wondered who would be up this early in the morning. She opened the door, and saw a black haired knight standing in the doorway. Behind him was a blue haired dunce with moderatly sized cat ears. She was nothing special. But the guy in front of her, he was so likable. With his shining black hair, and his mastery of the sword, and his deep eyes, and-

"Asuna?" Hello? Are you okay?" Kirito called out, a bit worried About Asuna's blank stare. She was slightly drooling too.

"Uhm, hey. Sorry, I blanked out. Kirito, who was oblivious of anybody having intrests in him, didn't notice Asuna's googly eyes all over him. Sinon on the other hand, gave a disapproved look.

"So, we wanted to help you get up to a higher level. Ya know, with farming 'n stuff?" Kirito didn't want him to lose his friendship with Asuna, plus he needed a hobby to help him forget about what had happened the last few days. It had been a hard week for Kirito. He'd become a delinquent in the world of ALO, and torment came from all directions. Sometimes they were insults, but they went as far as duels. When the opponent was beat within a split second, they complained even more to hide their own shame. The biggest among words was a beater, which normally would've made Kirito smile, but the word had lost its ring. It had become just another insult, and a reminder that this was SAO. Just another time, and another place.

"Uh, sure. Let me just get dressed first." She felt really unwell dressed, though forgot that the clothes she had were really her only pair. She was actually in cloth rags, as most other level 1 adventurers were, but a lot of high level adventurers kept them as sleeping clothes because they were relatively soft and snug.

"Isn't that your only pair of clothes?" Kirito asked, holding back a chuckle.

Asuna shrugged, not really too worried about it. She was a bit bothered that Sinon looked really good in her armor, and felt almost like a third wheel. She wanted Kirito back though, and would do whatever it took. Kirito meanwhile, felt the tense rivalry between the two girls. When Asuna got close, Sinon got closer. It ended when Asuna was pushed up against his shoulder while Sinon was hanging on to the opposite arm. Kirito was just happy that nobody was dying.

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**Alright, so that was chapter 15! Before you go though, I want to ask about what you guys want to see in the next few chapters. If you've got ideas, please PM them to me. I've come across a split in the road, and could really go any which way, but I want to know what you guys prefer. Oh, and one last thing. I've been getting into this anime that I've pretty much fallen in love with. It's called "DanMachi", or also "Is it wrong to try and pick up girls in a dungeon?". If you like SAO, I think you'll like this anime just as much if not better. **


	16. Chapter 15

**I hope you guys have enjoyed the story so far. I think out of everything I've written, stories and all, I'm most proud of this one. It has the most emotional elements and creative storytelling (at least I think so.) Even though I'm the one who wrote it, I'm still surprised by every twist, and saddened by every emotional bit. Well, keep on reading.**

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"Liz, I need advice." Asuna and Liz sat in a tavern not far from her small apartment.

"Are you trying to get Kirito back?" Lizbeth had been Asuna's go to girl for Kirito problems since they were separated. Liz honestly hated it, but she hated to see Asuna so sad, and pushed aside her own desire to be with Kirito. She would give up just about anything if it meant staying friends with Asuna.

"Asuna, I know this is going to sound cliché, but you're too good for Kirito. Any guy who doesn't see your perfection just... doesn't have the right to call you his own in the first place." Though it was probably the best advice Liz had given Asuna, she felt slight guilt, because that was just what she thought to herself when she saw Asuna and Kirito together. It wasn't applied directly to Asuna, though it actually could apply to any person in general.

Asuna, though almost completely doubting herself, stood up from her seat.

"You're right. If Kirito doesn't need me, then I don't need him." Asuna put on a grin to prove her seriousness. She wasn't sure if she was ready to move on, but this sure as hell wasn't any way for the quickest sword in ALO to be acting.

* * *

"So... Are you sure this is going to find me a new partner?" Asuna looked down at the small map in her hands, then up at the building erected above her. On the front wall hung a sign that read 'Cupid's Tavern'. It was a small tavern that matched males and females, and give them time to get to know each other before switching to another partner. All while eating overly expensive food. It was actually genius. Asuna wasn't sure about going in though. Meeting people at a place like this... It made her feel desperate. Well in a way, she really was, but it was like she was coming to terms with her need for love.

"It's bulletproof. I promise. I've been here a few times myself actually." Liz was smiling, like she was actually proud of going here or something.

"Have you actually met anybody at this place? I haven't seen you with any boys lately." Asuna had a questioning look on her face, which quickly turned to fright because her answer pissed off Liz big time.

"Do you want my help or not." She was definitely ready to give up on Asuna. Forget that whole 'give up anything to stay friends' thing.

Asuna backed up slightly, and said sorry several times. Liz gave a few heavy mumbles, then let herself get excited at the fact that Asuna was about to meet a new guy. He wouldn't be perfect, but he'd be just enough to keep Asuna's mind off of Kirito until at least the game is cleared, or somebody dies. Hopefully that wouldn't happen though.

"Okay! I'll be waiting out here. Go on in and meet a nice guy, okay?" Liz was suddenly really cheerful, literally throwing her hands up in the air.

Asuna only nodded with a smile. As she walked in, she was greeted by a waiter, who didn't seem to notice she walked in. Well, not until he called her name. She was slightly surprised, thinking for a moment that he might be somebody that she knew personally, though she could tell by the expression on his face and lack of looking up from his clipboard when talking to her that he had no interest in her. He almost reminded her of some of the boys at her highschool that were always on their phones.

"Asuna, the girl of the Black Swordsman. Age and race please. Did things not work out?" Asuna wondered why he even asked. He obviously didn't care what her answer would be. Still, she put on a smile to be polite.

"Uhm, 19, elf, and no, they didn't." He nodded, then Pointed to a table to her right, but ignored her thank you. He seemed more busy that he actually was. She waited at the table for mere seconds before a similar aged boy sat down. He seemed very nervous, and didn't exactly know what he was doing from the looks of him. Asuna raised her hand to give a light wave and say hi, but he just apologized and left the table before she had the chance to finish. That was the first of 17 guys who were all had one or more major flaws. Some were too desperate, and others were to straight forward... There were some that were just- weird. One guy directly tried to lick her face. Another asked her to sign a photo he had of her nude. It wasn't nearly her body type either, and was likely crafted with a photo editing software. Asuna was more than ready to go back to wailing over Kirito. She stood up from her chair and turned to leave, but stopped herself when a voice came from behind her.

"Leaving so soon?" She turned around to find a guy with a muscular body, but not too much, with blue eyes and brunette hair. His voice was deep, but just normal enough so that it was believable that he younger than 20.

"Sorry, I just thought you might want to chat. I couldn't pass up a chance to talk with such a stunning girl." That line was so cheesy, and yet so satisfying. He might as well called her a 'fine dame' and it still would please her. Something about this guy was just, perfect. He reminded Asuna of that dream guy that every girl had in their mind. You know, Favio or whatever. She herself had never thought much about a dream man, because she had Kirito. And before that, she wasn't interested. Asuna had always been too invested in her studies to think about those average girly things. She suddenly got nervous, as if she didn't want to ruin this encounter. Asuna seemed to actually like this guy! After some short talking, it got more casual. His name was Eita. They told cheap jokes, talked about how they got into gaming, and this stupid death game, and how Asuna was way too good for Kirito, and how Eita's ex was a total bitch. They added each other to their friends lists, and promised to organise a date for the next day.

Asuna messaged Liz to tell her the good news.

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**_It's been a long run, but the end is nigh, my friends. The end is nigh._**


	17. Chapter 16

**Ladies and gentlemen, the final chapter of Cheaters, Beaters, and Love. I'm really glad that you all have stuck with me these last few months. And to the new readers who've read the story all in one go, like bingeing an Anime (I do it all to much), I'm happy you've made it to the Final Chapter without losing interest. There will most likely be a prologue, because this chapter may or may not leave a big fat loose end, but don't worry, it'll satisfy you. I.. I think it will? I hope it will. Well anyway, here ya go!**

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AAAHHHHH! Asuna yelled to her heart's content. It was three hours until she would meet up with Eita, who was possibly the most charming guy she had ever met. They decided that A date at Asuna's home would be the best choice, so she had set up a table in the main room with a red velvet cloth over it. It wasn't an extraordinary setting for their first actual date, but he didn't own his own apartment, and they were both way too low leveled to afford a nice restaurant. Being a newbie player was a big flaw, but it was Eita's only flaw, or at least from the most of view of most people. Liz hadn't met this so called "dream man" yet, but she was disappointed at the fact that Asuna didn't choose a high level adventurer. If she liked him though, it was ultimately her choice. Besides, the main reason for doing this was to get Asuna's mind off of Kirito. He had actually caused a lot more trouble than he realized. The whole group had split up into smaller parts, all involving Kirito breaking Asuna's heart. Liz herself had stuck with Asuna, because she'll be there for Asuna no matter what. Kirito may have been thought of as the leader of the group, and the one who connected all of us together, now he's just a boy in Asuna's past, which means that he was a boy in her path too. She and Asuna were really just a duo though, as nobody else really stayed with them knowing they'd lose Kirito as an acquaintance. Sonon of course stayed with him, but Agil and Klein stepped out deliberately, stating that they'd rejoin the rest of us once things had been resolved. What really made Liz mad though, is that even Silica stayed with Kirito. She still talked with them from time to time, but she mostly went out adventuring with Sinon and the Black Swordsman. She couldn't put her finger on why. _Maybe she still had feelings for Kirito? Maybe Kirito talked her into it? Did he bribe her? No, that's not something Kirito would do. He may have cheated on Asuna, but he does still wish that she was better off._ Liz was standing directly behind Asuna with a train of thought longer than the Great Wall, watching her large grin do nothing but grow as the time until her date arrived shortened.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Liz asked Asuna, with a serious expression. Asuna's grin slid back down her face into a casual position, and she looked to face her long time friend. The only one who's been supportive of her from beginning to end. That question, though seemingly simple, held a much deeper meaning. Was Asuna really okay with doing this? Was she ready to move on? To forget about the man she once loved? It wasn't so much grasping the concept, but more coming to terms with it. The clock struck 6:00 PM, and the doorbell in the other room ringed. Asuna stood up from the mattress she sat on, and nodded. Without a word, they smiled at each other. Asuna left the room, knowing that her wingman, or rather wingwoman, would be there for her if and when she needed it. There was a second sequence of knocks, though in no specific tune or rhythm like many did.

Asuna opened the door feeling more nervous than she ever has, wishing in the least that she wasn't showing it to much. She was nervous about a lot of things. She wanted this date to be perfect. More than anything else though, she was worried about her cooking. Not being a very high level, she had been unable to put many points in cooking, because she had to focus on her swordskills and agility. She had only put enough points in so far to satisfy herself with a meal. Cooking skills worked in a strange way, at least to her. In most RPG games she had played in the past, which were really only a few, a low cooking skill meant only being able to cook minimal dishes. However in SAO, most dishes you'd find in average restaurants were cookable at minimal levels such as hers. Though, the physical task was harder. For example, you're only able to cut fruit or vegetables at minimal speed. There were special ingredients though, that were called ranked ingredients. They typically tasted better than regular dishes, and required a higher level to cook depending on the rank. All ingredients had a rank, but most were D rank and didn't require much level to use. C rank requires a cooking level just below Asuna's, while B and A rank required higher ones. S rank however, required a maxed out cooking level to be able to cook. Asuna only tasted one once, but she didn't care to remember the occasion, because of who it involved. Only being at a C rank level, Asuna was worried Eita wouldn't like her cooking, and therefore not like her. That was how it worked, right? She let him in, introducing the newbie adventurer to her just-as-newbie home. She was about his level, though was a former heroine, so her personal experience and knowledge of the environment was far more vast than his. Being around so many newbie things made her feel like a newbie herself though, which made her feel behind everybody else in their wreck of a group. Maybe that's why they left her behind, and stayed with Kirito instead?

Asuna snapped back into reality, after Eita called her name. "Um, Asuna? Are you okay? " Eita stared at her with a curious look. Asuna was lost in thought, but she seemed sad. Ha called her name to hopefully draw her from whatever bad thought lingered in her head. She smiled towards him, and nodded. He could tell that it was just barely forced, but went with it so not upset her more. Asuna brought in their meal, and they both dug in immediately. Neither had eaten since breakfast, as they both anticipated this meal, or more accurately eating the meal with one another.

"This meal is really good Asuna!" He devoured the Hiyayakko presented in front of him, and Asuna was delighted that he liked it. That was probably was the biggest stress load on her. Asuna finished her delectable meal, then started a conversation with the handsome boy in front of her. His eyes were like pearls, and his hair an ocean. It was short and wavy, but still dominated his head. They conversed for a while, and Asuna was generally happy, but something was missing. She just couldn't put her finger on it. In the other room, Liz was bored out of her mind. Suddenly though, she thought of an idea.

* * *

Kirito was just about finished farming monsters for the day. He was with Silica and Sinon, who had all been periodically clearing floors together ever since the splitting of the group. Silica really felt bad for not talking to Asuna and Liz more often, but she was a much higher level than they were, and wanted to get stronger. She still tried to talk to them whenever possible though. She did have her own goals. Silica remembered in SAO, how she was just a poster girl. Even when Kirito came to her aid, he had helped her non-stop and she felt like she hadn't done a thing. She aimed to prevent that this time. This time, Silica wanted to save her friends. She wanted to be helpful. The short girl said her goodbyes to Kirito and Sinon, and took a teleport crystal back to her house on a different level. The couple stayed back, because Kirito said he had something he needed to take care of. He had Silica knew what he really meant, and gave him a wink and a good luck before leaving. Sinon just kind of stood next to them in confusion. Kirito walked her into a safe zone of the floor, then into a small hotel by the spawn. He had already rented a room, and only walked to the counter to reclaim the key that they were holding for him. The Black Swordsman lad Sinon up to a room on the highest floor.

"Close your eyes Sinon. He asked her. She was hesitant to do it, but suddenly excited. Did Kirito get her something? Some new armor, or maybe a nice bow? Sinon couldn't help but grin.

"What for?" She tried to rustle some answers out of him.

Kirito only crossed his arms followed by a sharp grin. "You won't find out unless your eyes are closed."

Sinon sighed in defeat as she put one hand over her eyes, and held the other out to Kirito. He took it into his own, and unlocked the door to the hotel. He stopped her in a certain position in the middle of the room. After a few seconds, of silence Sinon heard a single word escape Kirito's lips.

"Open."

She slowly opened her eyes to see a boy with black hair kneeling in front of her. He had the legendary sword Excalibur sheathed across his back, along with another black sword sheathed the opposite direction. He held one item in his hands. It was an arrow. Not just any arrow, but one with a special ability. It was called the "Undying Shot". A legendary item which gave the player the ability to shoot an arrow as many times as they pleased, and it replenished itself when used. The item had somehow found its way into this boy's hands. He held it out to her, as if it was an offering. With sudden words, the boy spoke out to her.

"Sino- no, Asada Shino, let's get married." Kirito spoke in a serious tone, as if he was never more certain of anything in his lifetime. Sinon of course knew that he was only talking about getting married in game, but it still meant tge world to her none the less. She had never loved somebody in her whole life, nor has anybody ever loved her back. Ever since the girl could remember, she was always isolated from other people. No matter where she went, her past followed her, and so did the large shadow of shame cast over her.

* * *

Lizbeth, now squeezed into a small closet, listened in on the conversation going on on the other side if the door. Asuna was having a conversation Eita. She was pissed that there wasn't a single peephole in the closet door, so that she would at least be somewhat aware of the actions being taken on the other side of the room. This was usually about the time the guy would say goodbye and go home. Liz was only lingering to make sure everything went as planned.

While she waited, the blacksmith planned to take action on her own, possibly using this Eita guy as a tool for jealousy on Kirito. That way, he would come crawling back to Asuna.

"Hey Kirito. Asuna is on a date with a guy that's pretty much better than you in every way. I hope you aren't hella jealous." Liz sent him a PM through the ALO friend messaging system.

"It's good to hear she's moving on. I'm happy for her." Kirito replied within the minute. He seemed like he was in a good mood, but why?

"You aren't jealous?" The PM system was a lot like texting, except you had the option of voice input, or using the virtual keyboard provided within the player menu.

"Listen. I probably shouldn't tell you this, because I know you're still mad at me, but Sinon and I are getting married in game. I really am happy that Asuna had moved on." Kirito hadn't told many people yet, and Liz was really the last person on his list.

She had given him hours of crap when she heard the incident, and didn't stop there. She almost went out of her way to dislike Kirito. He understood her motives though. Kirito knew that what he did was wrong, but what else was he supposed to do? The Black Swordsman's heart has been stolen by another, and nobody would expect him to stay true to Asuna when she had failed to do so far too many times. He just wished that his decision hadn't caused the group to break up. Kirito didn't want to hate Asuna or Liz, nor did he feel the need to.

Upon receiving the PM, Liz didn't know what to do. She had lost the fight. Kirito really had moved on, and he was with another girl. This itself proved that Sinon wasn't just another girl. Kirito was serious about his relationship with her. In looking down to the floor, Liz started paying attention to the noises coming from the other room. There were sounds of discomfort, and light arguing. It was a bit muffled, but Liz had her listening skill up high enough so that she could hear most of the conversation.

"Come on, It'll be fun. I promise."

"I don't know, I'm really not up for sex after only our first date."

"I'll guide you through it. You'll like it, I swear."

"Olay I guess..."

There was some rustling too. The blacksmith's pearly eyes popped from their sockets when she realized the situation. Liz quickly kicked the door open, surprising a half-dressed asuna and a shirtless guy hovering above her. This sight, combined with Kirito's message infuriated Lizbeth beyond comprehension. She had no trouble interrupting Eita's sentence asking 'who are you?'.

"LISTEN HERE MOTHER FUCKER. THERE'S NO WAY I'M LETTING YOU PULL A ONE NIGHT STAND WITH MY BEST FRIEND. YOU HAVE 3 SECONDS TO GET OUT BEFORE YOUR HEALTH BAR IS REDUCED TO ZERO." Liz was enjoying her angry rant all too much, and she was actually ready to bash this guy's head in of she 'had to'. Eita grabbed his shirt with his hands in the air, pleading for his life in the presence of this satanic womanly figure standing before him. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving. Just don't kill me, please!" As the terrified adventurer ran out of the apartment seeming like nothing more than a scared bat, Liz calmed down a bit after seeing the partially terrified, partially about-to-break-out-laughing-because-of-Liz's-rant look on Asuna's face. After a short period of both girls laughing half to death, Liz suddenly got more serious after she remembered the other reason she had charged out of the closet.

"Listen, Asuna. This is all my fault, and I'm sorry, but I have something important you need to know. Kirito and Sinon are getting Married in game." Liz hesitated to go on when she saw the expression on Asuna's face. She wasn't sure if the already broken girl could go on listening. She had to though, for Asuna's sake. "I don't know if you plan to do anything, but whatever you do end up doing, I support you. After all, we're best friends. Right?" All she got was a slight nod from the girl through a wave of tears forming, but it was more than enough. Asuna mustered up all the courage and strength she had. She gave herself one last push, to do one last thing. The copper haired girl quickly swiped her arm down, followed by her finger, opening the player menu. She navigated to the PM system and sent a message to Kirito. "Meet me at the edge of the world tree, on floor 37. 12 am." Send.

* * *

Floor 37 was the highest floor achieved since that beginning of the ALO death game, which only started months ago. Every floor held a small opening that led to an exclusive balcony in which no monsters spawned. It was hard to reach though, as monsters guarded it. The only other way to reach the balcony of an unlocked floor was to fly there, which Asuna was able to do. This is where Asuna waited for her once beloved Kirito. Now he was only a wish. Well more appropriately, a demand. It was far too dark out to see much, but Asuna had cast a light spell to brighten the area she stood in.

Kirito furiously fought his way past the many guards of the 37'th floor balcony, before finally reaching the door. He knew he had to be there on time. This was important. There's no way it wasn't. His eyes instantly locked to Asuna the moment he saw her. Kirito's eyes widened as he realized the extent to which he had caused Asuna pain. The extent to which he was about to cause her. The sword wielding mistress, now a broken wreck of feelings and emotions, stood before Kirito with an unsheathed sword to her stomach. She only had one demand.

"Me or her. Choose." Asuna was serious. She had a deadly face on, which hid the glass shards behind it. Every few seconds Kirito assessed the situation at hand, the sword got closer. In the mind of this boy, this poor, helpless boy, there was only one option. Tell the truth. Tell the truth even if it meant her fate was sealed.

"Asuna, I don't love you like you do me. I couldn't choose you in a million years, but it's not because I don't like you. It's because I couldn't lie to you, and I couldn't do that to you." Asuna slightly lost her grip of the sword, listening to what Kirito had to say. "If supposedly I did choose you, what would our life be?" It would be you holding onto your life by a thread, and me, unsatisfied with my own. It would be a burden for the both of us."

"Kirito..." Asuna slightly lowered the sword, but then fell to her knees. She suddenly broke into tears. "I don't care about any of that! Don't make me do it! Please, choose me! I'm nothing without you!" She lost control of herself, and tightly gripped the blade again. However, Kirito held his ground. "I can't say yes. You know I can't." Those were the last words out of Kirito's mouth until he dashed toward his past lover.

Asuna let her arms fall toward her chest. She didn't feel any pain, nor remembered much after that. Her health bar went down rapidly, Kirito was running toward her, and she was smiling. The last thing she remembered were the words she said as Kirito's upper body hovered over her. She felt his tears drop onto her face, as the dying girl whispered one, last, small thing.

"I love you."

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*beep*_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-*beep*_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-*beep*_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-*beep*_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The sound of a heart moniter was the first thing that welcomed Asuna as she woke up in a hospital room. It was the same one she had dived at not too long ago. Her caretaker stood above her, with a light smile.

"How did it go?" The nurse asked with a slightly curious expression on her face. Asuna sat up, feeling a bit thinner than she had been. The female counterpart of Kirito was only a teenager in this world, as was he. She ignored the question asked by her nurse, and only stared blankly at the wall that faced her. The girl sat there, with no expression. Her world had been turned upside down. She wanted to believe that what was going on was fake; that she had just woken up from a dream; that she could walk out of the hospital, and Kirito would be waiting for her at the entrance. Asuna knew from the start that she was going to wake up after she had died in ALO. They had told her before she dived.

"Once you dive, you won't be able to leave until you register as dead. Although, we've altered the headset you're wearing so that it won't kill you. Still, your character will be deleted from the ALO server memory, so you won't be able to return."

That's what they said. And now, here she was. Pushed abruptly out of the world of lies she found comfort in. Her vital signs were normal, so she was allowed to leave the hospital at any time, but she didn't want to. She wasn't ready to.


	18. Chapter 17

**alright, so I'm sorry I didn't get this chapter out sooner, but I got wayyyyy too into Katawa Shoujo. Well I know know I lie, but that wasn't actually the ending, due to me making the epilogue too long, which is why it's become the final FINAL chapter. The epilogue IS coming, so look forward to that, and sorry for the hella long wait. Enjoy!**

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The brightness gleaming above the players were dazzling. They came from the world tree. There were lights strung across it, and it was presented to all of Alfheim as a welcoming tree. A sign that everything would be okay. There were branches hanging off left and right to make it appear like a tall-standing pine tree. In the distant sky, you could see a faint light above the tree, which served as a star. It was christmas season. Many players and NPC's worked together to make this tree as bright as can be, stringing up lights and streamers all across it. Even Kayaba Akihiko did his part. An update had been released that turned all things a pearly white, with pine needle streamers strung across existing buildings and lamp posts. There were bells and ribbons scattered all across the land, and every night was starry. Though the man may have had cruel intentions, he sure wasn't bad at heart. Who knows? Maybe he only wished to free players from the joyless society they lived in. This though.. was it really the way to do it?

Kirito was out on a date with Sinon, spoiling her to her heart's content. Their inventory was shared, so anything he got for her was actually his too, but they had agreed to only use their part of it unless necessary. Meanwhile, The rest of the group was split, off doing their own things. Agil had his shop to run, as it was busy on the holidays. Klein had a guild he needed to lead on the front lines, and Liz and Silica, well... They were spying on the lovers, making sure neither got too chummy. This had been the routine for the last couple of months, because Kirito and Sinon had been far too "dedicated" to the relationship. It got embarrassing. Now anytime they were out in public, alone or not, any more than a light kiss called for an immediate "coincidental walk by". They didn't usually have to spy, but it was holiday season, and the two lovebirds were becoming too focused on each other. The group was taking a break from leveling and fighting for the season, as they had been doing a ton of progressing in the dungeon with some popular guilds such as Knights of the Blood Oath, and Fuurinkazan. Many guilds in Aincrad were strongly based off of or inspired by SAO guilds. Being the awkward outsider he was, Kirito refused to join any of them. He rarely cleared dungeons with anybody other than Sinon and Silica, because they were his only friends with a high enough skill level to join him in the dungeon levels he could handle. Silica had actually become more of a third wheel, though never left out. She had no complaints though, because she would rather not be fighting alone. When the group was together, they took on quests outside the world tree, to gain cool items and rewards.

Few guilds actually were on break at this time, which made not being part of one all the more enjoyable. Usually they would be, but this year was different. Clearing the 100th floor was already an event under way, and even people who weren't part of guilds, especially Kirito, Sinon, and Silica, were strongly pressured to take part in the fight. But hey, what was the rush? It was christmas eve. A time to enjoy yourself. A time to go to parties and give gifts to others. Not a time for fighting and stress. Kirito didn't understand the people who felt they needed to fight every hour of every day. They only seemed naive to him. He'd rather be with the one he loved.

"Hey Kirito. I think I want a new bow." Sinon equips her bow and plucks its string, listening to the loud tone it gives off. "This one is starting to become weak against the monsters on higher floors."

Thinking back to the week-long quest Kirito went on to get her current bow, he wasn't amused. "It sounds almost as if you want me to get one for you as a christmas present." He gives a look of disapproval, but then smirks. "I don't know what bow you'd have in mind that's better than-"

"This one." Sinon shoves a booklet into Kirito's face, the page flipped to information about something that Kirito couldn't actually read, because the book was touching his face. Kirito backed up, taking a moment to examine the pages in front of him. "Ehhhhhh!? This is the ranged equivalent of the Excalibur! How do you expect me to get something of this difficulty and value?"

Sinon crossed her arms, and looked away from him unhappy, as if she expected him to go on the quest required to get it without question. "Actually, I thought we could go as a couple." She gave a plain smile, making sure to add in a slight element of pout.

For the next few hours, Kirito and Sinon walked parallel to the holiday shops and flea markets, making small talk along the way. Eventually they started heading back to their home in the forest. It seemed to be only snowing for the last few weeks, which wasn't that odd considering the weather was completely controlled by blocks of code, just as this whole world was; just like it always had been. Though, that didn't stop the snow from being all the more beautiful. Small talk slowly rose up again."Hey Kirito, do you love me?" Sinon didn't have the slightest hint of doubt about the answer she would receive, but that just made it all the more fun to ask.

"Of course I do." Kirito stayed silent for a moment, then repeated the question to Sinon. "Do you love me?"

"No, I just married you for the extra inventory space." Sinon was quite satisfied with her answer, but quickly regret it when she saw Kirito looking down at his shoes, with a slight forced smile.

He knew the joke well, as this wasn't the first time she had said it. Not even close. For some reason though, there was only one person that he could think of after that. It wasn't like him to get like this, even when Sinon got sarcastic about their relationship. After all these years, he still couldn't get over Asuna's death. For the first few months after, Kirito lost all of the joy he had gained from spending time from his friends, and forgot all the lessons he had learned. It was back to the beginning. Grind all day, practice all night. Nobody was allowed to get hurt in his care. It reminded him how seeing another person close to you die was...terrifying. There was no secret to getting over it. Sinon gave an attempt to fix her answer, not wanting Kirito to remember those things. She wrapped her arms around him softly, and quoted him. "Of course I do." And then she paused, and decided to add something. "But the inventory space is still the main reason I married you."

Kirito gave a smile that was only slightly forced, but the joke had lightened him up quite a bit. They were silent for the rest of the way, until it had gotten dark out, and they were both laying down on a couch in their living room.

Sinon was pretty tired, but also in the mood for other things. She way usually to nervous to ask, which is why the topic was never brought up. Also, whenever she had a decent chance to ask, Silica, Liz, or both of them seemed to pop in coincidentally. Though, tonight was christmas eve, so it was an opportunity. "Hey Kirito, do you want to-"

"No." His face was absorbed deep into a pillow on the couch, denying the likely request for another gift. He was broke after today.

Sinon ignored his response, and repeated her question. "Do you want to do.. well you know, 'that'?

Kirito sat up next to Sinon to listen to her question, thinking he hadn't heard it fully. "What is 'that'?"

Becoming nervous that Kirito didn't know what she was talking about and that she would have to explain it further, Sinon blushed immensely. Looking at her bright red face, Kirito got the memo.

"Oohhh, 'that'." It took him a moment to further comprehend the meaning of 'that', but not more than a second. Queue the blushing. He almost thought he heard somebody yell "NO!" outside the window, but it was so faint, it was probably just an illusion.

The Cait-Sith girl, realizing she had made the situation awkward, instantly regret her words, but Kirito spoke up before she could try to change the subject."I.. I guess we could try it, but do they even allow that in the game?"

"I.. I guess we can try... I mean, we're far past adulthood in the other world, so it's not like it would be a crime..."

Then proceeded a conversation about whether they should go ahead, or wait until the game ended.

It took awhile, but eventually they agreed to try it, even though they were both very inexperienced in the field. Sinon engaged on Kirito, since he didn't really "practice" as much asshe did, or really much at all. Games had been his one and only true interest, until SAO, and even then, his friends were the only big add on to that list. Sinon on the other hand, had considerably more interest in it. She started with foreplay, which was limited really. There wasn't much you could do with clothes only able to be removed by a player menu.

Kirito went to remove his undergarments first, but was met with a pop up alert.

"WARNING: YOU ARE ABOUT TO REMOVE YOUR UNDERGARMENTS, WHICH IS LIKELY UNNECESSARY UNLESS PERFORMING IN SEXUAL ACTIONS, WHICH IS NOT RECOMMENDED. ALO IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MISHAPS THAT ARE CAUSED BY SAID SEXUAL ACTION. DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED ANYWAY?

-YES- -NO-

He took a moment to skim the warning, then moved his hand towards the "yes" button. A knock at the door stopped him. Kirito and Sinon locked eyes, then nodded at each other. They both opened their player menus and re-applied all previous clothing, while Sinon cursed under her breath at the horribly timed interruption. There was another set of knocks, this time followed by a masculine voice.

"Kirito and Sae- Sinon, the Final Boss battle is upon us." The man was obviously reading from a script, hence the reason he mispronounced Sinon's name. It didn't go unnoticed either. She crossed her arms in disappointment. "We humbly ask you to join the fight for our right to return to the other world." The monotone in his voice was demeaning, but this was none the less a fight that they had to take part in. Kirito was among the strongest players in the game, and Sinon wasn't far behind. She had her own interested in becoming a strong player. In a world where fighting was the only way forward, being weak just wasn't an option for her. Being with Kirito was her biggest priority, but strength was a close second. Luckily, they often intertwined.

Kirito equipped his two swords, while Sinon did the same with her bow and arrows. They opened the door, greeted by a tall man recognized as the owner and commander of the Knights, who mainly consisted of the salamander race, with a small assortment others. He was accompanied by another salamander who seemed quite young, and an Sylph girl of similar age. There wasn't any time to chat before they all teleported to the World Tree, and then to the 100th floor. Most of the areas were infested with mini-boss level monsters, that took 3-4 played to take them down, assuming they all have their fighting skills maxed out. Kirito and Sinon helped where help was needed. These monsters were already cleared, but there were more that respawned quickly, and the dungeon was unbelievably huge, and very open. There were maybe 10,000 of the strongest players, most belonging to a big guild. When they reached the door, there were only a few thousand, while the rest fended off monsters. It stood very tall, far above any other boss doors. Maybe even a hundred feet up. As the door was opened hastily, players stepped into the room. Kirito was among the first to enter, and his observations took him by surprise.

The dungeon was very large, but it had little flooring. In fact, only about 100 people would be able to fit in safely! There was a very little raised platform at the center of the huge room, and it stood one man. He was in a flimsy lab coat, with no armor or weapons at all. His hands were in his pockets, until one was lifted. Kayaba Akihiko snapped his fingers together, loud enough for the entire population of ALO to hear. But what was even louder, and more painful, was the sound of the door shutting behind them, crushing a few in the process. Kirito snapped his head back to check for Sinon. She was nowhere to be found. There were about 40 people in the room, and not one had blue hair. His eyes widened as he ran through others, looking left and right for her. She was on the other side of the door, knocking at it to let her in. It was too thick to hear though, and Kirito had quickly started to imagine the worst, as did Sinon.

The attention of everybody in confusion was quickly swayed by Kayaba stepping, slowly, toward the small group. They all stood together like a team holding up their weapons, though their souls were weak and scared inside. Among them was Kirito, who walked fearlessly toward his opponent, and spoke up.

"What are your intentions, Kayaba."

"Well Kirito, if you must know, I thought you might want to make this quick and easy." He raised his voice, targeting the whole group. "You're all tired of fighting big scary monsters. You just want to go home and get some rest after a long day, right?"

Everybody nodded in agreement, with the thought in the back of their minds that of they agreed with him, Kayaba would let them of easy. These Were fearsome fighters. Some were close to invincible. But in front of a man who had the power to do anything he desired, they felt weak. They felt like no more than dust.

"What are you getting at Kayaba." Kirito's damsel was in distress and he had no time to waste. "What do you mean 'after a long day.'""Well, this whole experience, this whole roller coaster ride. It was no more than a few long days." Kayaba smiled, ready to reveal his big secret. "In the afterlife, if this is what you would call that," he held his hands out and glanced at them, "I've accomplished many things. Though my biggest, was accelerated brain waves. This new technology is able to accelerate your thought patterns up to 1000 times."

Everybody suddenly froze in disbelief. Some were angered, and some were insanely relieved. One girl even started laughing. He ignored the now broken people talking amongst themselves, and continued his explanation.

"So, I thought to myself. You all have been through a lot for only a few days of your life, and I've decided to make this easy. I'll flip a coin. If it lands on heads, you're all free to leave this world forever. On the other hand, if it lands on tails, everybody will be, well, stuck here forever." Kayaba held a genuine looking smile throughout the explanation, making this whole thing sound just a little bit less ridiculous.

Kirito wasn't about to risk his life on a coin, but what choice did he have? He stood still and watched the next 15 seconds of his life unfold.

1, The madman that stood before the small group of adventurers pulled out a coin from his pocket.

2, he raises his hand to his chest, and positions the coin in his fingers.

3, silence.

4, the coin makes a faint 'cling' as it spins slowly into the air. Time seems to slow almost to a stop at this moment.

5, a feminine voice from behind shouts "KIRITO!"

6, the girl somehow clips through the door which she seemed to be pushing on moments before, becoming part of the small group stuck in this small boss battle room.

7, a small, metallic object hitting the ground catches the eyes of the room. All except Kirito, whose eyes were widened at the girl who broke through the boundaries of a simple coded game.

8, she runs toward her love with impossible speed, Reminding Kirito that he had a chance to save the world. It was never a sure thing, but they say the third time's a charm.

9, he dashed toward the man who's pure white lab coat only seemed brighter around dark, stone walls. Kirito unsheathed his Excalibur, watching the coin spin at a deathly slow speed, close to a stop.

10, the sound of a sword cutting through cold hard metal echoed throughout the room, but was unknown to the wielder, who's arms were in shock from the rough impact of the ground under.

11, eyes widened as the coin split, both parts flying high into the air.

12, Sinon reached her destination at the speed of a bullet train without slowing down, impacting into Kirito, sending them both flying forward, once again united.

13, the two halfs of the coin hit the ground only slightly offset from each other.

14, the sound of the both pieces spinning was short, and quickly halted.

15, one coin landed on heads, and the other on tails.


	19. Epilogue

**Well, it's been fun. This is the final final final chapter, so to say. It could also be called an epilogue, but ehh, whatever. I poured everything I had into it, so I hope you guys enjoy it. I hope I can write more stories for you all in the future. So, enjoy!**

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"Why would you do this? Why again?"

"I told you in the beginning. Don't you remember?"

"But don't you feel sympathy for all of those who've died?"

"People die every day. My world was no different. Only it had more meaning." Kayaba Akihiko's voice echoed throughout the endless abyss that surrounded the two of them. "Throughout your time here, you always fought for your life, and the lives of others. For once, twice, three times, you were more than just a boy in his room, trying to escape his real world life."

Kirito really thought for a moment, fighting his urge to agree with Kayaba, and maybe even praise him. Because as much of a name he had made for himself, it wasn't worth the lives that were lost. No, people had died. Families crushed. He clutched his fists and made his disagreements final.

"Nobody was saved from initial death. They were only saved from an artificial cause created by you. You know that."

"I won't argue about any of that, because well, as far as I know, it's all very true. I have other matters to discuss with you anyway."

"I have people waiting to see me. Make it quick."

"I feel that after this big event, it's probably about my time."

"Your time?"

"I've decided to delete myself from the ALO servers; for good. In other words, I'll cease to exist."

"But why?"

"I've meddled with virtual reality enough. I've achieved my dream. And I've even found my castle." A large metallic castle appeared behind Kayaba, resembling a brighter, more welcoming version of Aincrad. He turned around and walked toward what he claimed to be his castle, but briefly turned his head back at Kirito. "Though you aren't my friend, nor my companion, I believe I can trust you with my research, correct?" Kirito nodded. And with that, Kayaba started his swift walk again, making small noises with his shoes clacking against the large rock flooring that lead to the castle's entrance. "Goodbye, Kirito."

And with that, he was gone. Kayaba was, as was the castle, gone. Kirito looked around at the returned black abyss, and waited only a few seconds before he was quickly thrust into the heaviness of reality without warning. He was in a hospital. A bright white dot stared into the room from the sky, illuminating it. If Kayaba had not lied, only a day and a half would have passed. The hands in front of his face were seemingly normal, and there were no tubes attached to him. This was nothing like the first time Kirito awoke from the death game, so Kayaba may have actually been telling the truth.

Kirito, not sure if he should be relieved or not, suddenly realized the weight on his left leg. When he looked to the figure resting on it, there was a large scatter of orange hair, followed by a soft face sleeping by him. A.. a soft face, of a girl.. she looked familiar though. She had a small tablet by her head, with a small speaker symbol displaying on the screen. A minute passed while Kirito recollected his thoughts about the real world; about what had just happened.

"Daddy? Is that you?" The tablet spoke! Kirito's mind, which had come back from the daze he was in, grasped a tight hold of the device and held it close. There was one voice and one voice only that was so innocently toned.

"Y.. Yui?" He struggled with hands, almost as if he's forgotten how to use them.

"Daddy! I knew you'd win! Did you save everybody again?"

Kirito was about ready to burst into tears. "Yes Yui, I saved everybody again."

And then everything became clear to him. Kirito looked back at his leg in shock, and jumped out of his bed, almost kicking Asuna's limp head in the process. His brain was suddenly filled with questions.

"Agh… What in the hell-" Asuna's eyes widened at her first sight, an empty bed, and her second sight, a confused black haired boy, almost frightened. "Kirito… Uhh, I'm sorry.. I'm-"

He rushed to hug the girl he had bled despair for for the past 2 years, his mind completely recollected. They were suddenly both in tears, neither wishing for a conversation of any kind to start. They didn't move from that position for days, years, millennia, until the door behind them closed softly, the result of somebody peeking inside hoping to go unnoticed. Kirito popped his head out of the hospital room, and saw a small girl with slightly messy orange hair that her small shoulders didn't do much to hide. She would probably be unrecognizable to most that knew her, if not for her idolized face. It was just as bright and shiny as ever, despite her gloomy look.

"So she's still alive, huh." Silica lifted her head up to face Kirito, who didn't know how to react.

"Y.. yeah. She's alive and well." Kirito put on a smile in attempt to cheer up the innocent looking girl before him, but it didn't seem to do much.

"Kirito, how do you do it? How can you hug her so joyfully after all this. Like nothing happened. After you've realized that all her final words before death, were staged? Like you were part of a play." Silica sighed, not able to let the anger inside her stop growing. A staged death? Did that damned girl even consider the kind of state Kirito was in for the next few months after? About how he couldn't stop blaming himself? Was it her plan from the start? Debating with herself was pointless though, and confronting Kirito was just as well. That's just the kind of person he was.

"I forgive and forget." Kirito replied, with a near-whisper following up, "Even if it hurts to do it." He kneeled down directly in front of the short girl, and leaned in real close. "She's a good person Keiko. Even if she may have done us wrong, she's allowed to have feelings, and allowed to be forgived." He paused for a moment. "Thanks."

They hugged.

"So did you guys see Shino on your way here?" As the three walked down the hallway of the hospital, he thought popped into his mind that she may have never woken up. He got worried, but kept his cool.

"Well I was brought here by my parents, and I assume you were too. Shino lives on her own, so she's probably back at her apartment." Keiko quickly regret not picking her words more carefully, as she saw Kirito's eyes widen.

"Ihavetogo." A slur of words was pieced together by a Kirito who was suddenly dashing across the hall. To his luck, the hospital was nearby Sinon's apartment, so he could get there in only a few minutes if he ran.

When he arrived, the door was open, the lock broken. Kirito stepped inside,

and saw a black haired girl lying down on her bed. Many of the things around her he had seen before had gone missing. Had she been robbed while she was in ALO? Was she sleeping? He almost yelled out her name, but then noticed the lack of a VR headset on her head. The almost-traumatized boy let out a big sigh in relief. He walked over to his damsel's bed, and slowly sat down. One of Sinon's bangs were over her face, so he pushed it aside, slightly brushing his fingers against her gleaming skin. He decided to get into the bed, so to be closer to his girlfriend. Kirito spent a few minutes looking at Sinon's beautiful face only inches away from his own. He almost wanted to gaze at her forever, but was worried that she wouldn't wake up.

*poke*

*poke*

*poke poke*

When Sinon's eyes opened slowly, she was still half asleep, only dazing off a few minutes ago. She took in her surroundings, but could mostly only see a big figure in front of her. Her view was a bit blurry, but she focused in on the situation.

"Ki… Kazuto?" Her face was suddenly steaming. "What… what happened last night? Did we do anything?!" She backed up too much and fell onto the floor behind her.

Kirito climbed to the edge and looked at the corpse of a person below him. "Uhm, are you okay?" He couldn't help but get out a slight chuckle.

"I'm… I'm fine." As the archer's mind began to clear of mist, her memories started coming back to her. She jumped up and hugged Kirito, remembering what he had done. Remembering the years they spent together, shuffled together in a blur of good and bad moments. It was almost like a story; just a really long picture book. Chapter by chapter, tales of happiness, and sorrow. But most importantly to Sinon, love. It even had a happy ending.

"Kirito," Sinon spoke out softly, to the boy embracing her in his arms. "Can we get married?" Kirito slightly chuckled, as if asking such a thing was pointless.

"Of course." He moved his lips in close, and embraced Sinon even closer, proving that his love was real. It was as real as love got.

It was a happy ending.


End file.
